^tS^^k^^iy^ 


L.  /.. 


t^^'-TS'^^rr 


.  fYl     ^ 

"^^        ^• 

^      ^ 

♦H 

^       !?' 

*-• 

^ 

^^ 

§     § 

1    .    b 

:s    .1   1 

O 

1    -^    1 

^         |zi 

^      05      ^ 

'^      J;3 

^          Ph 

P4 

**-» 

<k 

^ 

^ 

?5i 

^ 

#^ 

V 

^ 

^ 

THE 


TRUE  PSALMODY; 


THE  BIBLE  PSALMS 


THE  CHURCH'S  ONLY  MANUAL  OF  PRAISK 


SECOND  EDITION. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM   S.  YOUNG,  1028  RACE  STREET. 

1859. 


;>  *  >  t 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  ministers  and  elders  of  the  Reformed  and 
United  Presbyterian  Churches  of  Philadelphia,  be- 
lieving that  the  times  demand  a  full  presentation 
of  the  subject  herein  discussed,  held  a  meeting  in 
the  Cherry  Street  Church,  Aug.  16th,  1858,  at 
which.  Revs.  J.  M.  Willson,  J.  T.  Cooper,  and  Ro- 
bert J.  Black,  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  pre- 
pare, from  existing  treatises,  a  work  in  favour  of 
the  exclusive  use  of  the  Scripture  Psalmody  as  the 
matter  of  the  Church's  praise.  Rev.  William  Ster- 
ret  was  subsequently  added  to  the  Committee.  At 
an  adjourned  meeting,  having  presented  an  out- 
line of  the  work,  the  Committee  were  unanimously 
authorized  to  proceed  with  its  publication.  The 
names  of  the  ministers  present,  are  as  follows; 
Revs.  J.  M.  Willson,  S.  0.  Wylie,  David  ISl'Kee, 
William  Sterret,  Robert  J.  Black,  S.  P.  Herron, 
A.  G.  M'Auley,  Francis  Church,  J.  B.  Dales,  D.  D., 
J.  T.  Cooper,  D.  D.,  G.  C.  Arnold,  Robert  Arm- 
strong and  T.  H.  Beveridge.  Elders: — Robert 
Orr,  John  Evans,  R.  Skilton,  Wm.  Blakely,  Dr. 
A.  S.  M'Murray,  Henry  Floyd,  William  Crawford, 
Wm.  Brown  and  others. 

Francis  Church,  Chairman. 
G.  C.  Arnold,  Secretary. 


PEin- 

,fttC.  MAKlBb2 

THSOLOGlC&Lj' 


!Um 


<mr-'<!i:V.K:i 


CONTENTS, 


iNTRODrrcTio:<r, 


PAGE    Vll 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE    BOOK  OF    JSALMS — COMPLETE   MANUAL  OF    PRAISE. 

1.  Presents  the  most  comprehensive  delineation 

of  the  perfections  of  God,  and  of  the  cha- 
racter of  His  government,  .  .  .13 

2.  In  Three  Persons,       .  .  .  .  .    15 

3.  Furnishes  a  full  and  accurate  exhibition  of 

man's  real  state  and  character  before  God,       19 

4.  The  Psalms  are  full  of  Christ,  .  .       24 

5.  Contain   the   richest  fund   of   Christian   ex- 

perience,      .  .  .  .  .34 

6.  The  most  eminent  Christians  and  Christian 

teachers  have  ever  so  testified,         .  .       35 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS  HAS  THE  SEAL  OF  DIVINE  APPOINT- 
MENT, WHICH  NO   OTHER  HAS. 

1    Divinely  appointed,     .  .  .  .46 

ill 


lY  CONTENTS. 

2.  No  other  Psalms  have  such  appointment,       •       60 

3.  The  Church  of  Christ,  one  under  both  Testa- 

ments, .  .  .  .  .69 


CHAPTER   III. 

NO  "WAREANT  FOR   MAKING  OR  USIXG    ANT  OTHER  HYMX3 
IN  THE  WORSHIP  OF  GOD. 

I.  Arguments  used  in  behalf  of  such  loarrant. 

1.  That  Scripture  sanctions  it,    .  .  .       72 

2.  That  hymns  have  the  sanction  of  long  and  ex- 

tensive use  in  the  Church,    .  .  .97 

3.  The  argument  from  analogy — from  the  use  of 

our  own  words  in  prayer,      .  .  .125 

4.  A  part  of  our  Christian  liberty,  .  .     132 

5.  Used  by  godly  men,    ....     140 

6.  Hymns  may  be  read,  &c.,  with  edification,     .     141 

//.  Arguments  against  tlie  use  of  Hymns. 

1.  None  but  inspired  Psalms  used  during  the  Old 

Testament  economy,  .  .  .     144 

2.  There  is  no  authority  by  which  we  can  be  called 

upon  to  sing  hymns,               .             .             .  145 

3.  The  use  of  hymns  sets  aside  the  Psalms,         .  147 

4.  Hymns  are  sectarian,               .             .             .  149 

5.  It  has  been  found  impracticable  to  frame  an 

acceptable  and  permanent  book  of  hymns,     151 

6.  The  advocacy  of  hymns  has  led  to  great  errors,     159 

7.  The  use  of  hymns  has  led  to  the  abandonment 

very  largely  of  congregational  and  family 
singing  in  praise  of  God,      .  .  .     168 


CONTENTS.  T 

CHAPTER   IV. 

OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  USE  OF   THE  PSALMS  CONSIDERED. 

184 


1.  That  they  speak  of  a  Saviour  to  come, 

2.  That  they  are  encumbered  with  Old  Testa 

ment  allusions,  &c., 

3.  That  they  are  not  adapted  to  a  revival  of  reli 

gion,  .... 

4.  That  they  are  hard  to  understand, 

5.  That  they  are  unsuitable  for  children, 

6.  That  the  Psaln:is  are  not  adapted  to  the  con 

dition  of  every  worshipper,    , 

7.  That  Churches  which   use  hymns  are  more 

prosperous  than  such  as  do  not, 

8.  That  the  spirit  of  some  of  the  Psalms  is  un 

christian,       .... 

9.  If  we  use  the  Psalms,  why  not  sing  the  titles 

&c.?  .... 


188 

196 
199 
202 

203 

204 

206 

216 


CHAPTER  V. 

REMARKS      TTPOX     THE     "SCOTTISH    VERSION "     OF     THE 
PSALMS. 

1.  It  has  been  subjected  to  the  most  careful  ex- 

amination as  to  its  fidelity,  .  .218 

2.  It  may  claim  to  be  a  faithful  rendering,  .     222 

3.  "Imitations"  of  the  Psalms  are  to  be  compared 

with  it  in  this  respect,  .  .  .     223 

4.  It  has  been  largely  approved  by  men  of  ac- 

knowledged taste,  though,  of  course,  suscep- 
tible of  improvement,  as  is  our  English  Bible,     225 
Appendix,  .  .  .  .  .229 


■fiK... .,  ^ 

INTRODUCTION. 


The  celebration  of  God's  praise  in  song,  and  with 
the  "  voice  of  melody/'  is  among  the  most  delightful 
of  religious  exercises.  It  is  the  natural  expression 
of  holy  confidence  and  joy  in  God :  "Is  any  merry? 
let  him  sing  Psalms;"  '^They  shall  come  with 
singing  unto  Zion,  and  everlasting  joy  shall  be  upon 
their  heads."  It  is  in  singing  praises  that  the 
united  voices  of  the  worshippers  of  God  are  heard 
in  Christian  assemblies.  While  thus  engaged,  if 
ever,  the  heart  is  stirred  and  moved  to  penitential 
emotion,  to  adoring  homage,  to  grateful  thanks- 
giving, to  lofty  hopes  and  anticipations.  "What- 
ever relates  to  such  an  exercise  and  ordinance, 
must  be  of  no  minor  importance.  Above  all,  the 
inquiry,  What  shall  be  the  matter  of  our  praise  ? 
What  sacred  songs  shall  we  sing?  must  be  of  the 
very  highest  moment.  We  may  naturally,  and  with 
the  deepest  interest,  ask,  whether  the  Most  High  has 
himself  provided  us  with  a  manual  of  praise?  or, 
has  he  left  us  to  make  or  gather  songs,  other  than 

iii 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

He  has  furnislied,  as  we  may  have  the  ability^  or 
make  our  choice? 

Whatever  the  result  of  our  examination  of  these 
inquiries — and,  it  is  but  too  well  known,  all  have 
not  reached  the  same  conclusions,— none  can  deny 
that  they  are  worthy  of  our  most  devout  and  ear- 
nest attention.     For: 

1,  We  serve  a  ^'jealous  God"  who  claims  as  His 
inalienable  prerogative,  the  designation  and  appoint- 
ment of  all  that  relates  to  religious  worship.  "  In 
vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines 
the  commandments  of  men."  And,  surely,  those 
who  draw  nigh  to  God  in  acts  of  devotion,  should 
be  as  deeply  concerned  now,  as  of  old,  lest  they  be 
found  to  offer  '' strange  fire  before  the  Lord."  In 
every  part  and  act  of  worship,  we  should  endea- 
vour to  be  well  assured  that  we  approach  the 
throne  of  the  Eternal  with  a  service  which  He 
has  prescribed,  and  which,  presented  in  faith,  He 
will  accept.  And  thus  ("For  the  Lord,  whose 
name  is  Jealous,  is  a  jealous  God,"  Ex.  xxxiv.  14,) 
whether  a  prayer,  a  doctrine,  or  a  Psalm,  it  is  a 
solemn  inquiry,  Is  it  according  to  the  will  of  God? 

It  is  not  enough  that  our  offering,  or  the  man- 
ner in  which  we  present  it,  seem  to  us  well  adapted 
to  awaken  pious  emotion,  or  develop  Christian 
affections.  This  is  one  of  the  most  marked,  and 
most  baneful  of  the  errors  of  that  system  of  corrupt 


INTRODUCTION.  V 

Christianity  which  the  entire  Protestant  world  re- 
jects as  anti-christian:  and  hence,  its  pictures,  its 
images,  its  gorgeous  and  impressive  ceremonial — 
"having  a  show  of  wisdom/'  but,  after  all,  only  ^'in 
will-worship,''  (Col.  ii.  22,)  unacceptable  to  God, 
unprofitable  to  the  worshipper,  and,  at  last,  fatal 
to  the  interests  of  vital  religion  and  personal  piety. 

Adopt  this  principle,  and  where  shall  we  fix  its 
limits?  If  human  ingenuity  once  begin  to  meddle 
with  the  devotions  of  the  people  of  God,  where 
shall  it  be  arrested?  where  can  it  be  arrested? 
Hence,  with  wise  and  beneficent  forethought,  as 
well  as  with  a  jealous  regard  to  His  own  glory,  as 
the  Church's  only  King  and  Head,  our  God  and 
Saviour  has  excluded  from  His  Church  every  in- 
vention of  man;  has  stamped  upon  every  institu- 
tion and  ordinance  the  impress  of  His  own  sove- 
reign and  most  gracious  authority.  He  has  left  us 
but  the  office  and  the  privilege  of  studying  His 
Word,  that  we  may  ascertain  His  will,  and  then, 
follow  it  with  a  jealousy  and  vigilance  like  His 
own. 

2.  The  Psalmody  of  the  Church  has  no  feeble 
influence  upon  her  doctrines,  and  upon  the  tone 
and  spirit  of  her  piety.  An  eminent  statesman 
of  the  old  world,  once  remarked,  "Let  me  make 
the  ballads  of  a  nation,  and  I  care  not  who  makes 
its  laws."  A  nation's  songs  do  certainly  mould,  if 
1* 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

not  to  so  great  an  extent  as  this  apophthegm  would 
imply,  yet,  very  largely  indeed,  the  sentiments,  the 
feelings,  and  even  the  opinions  of  its  citizens.  The 
songs  of  the  church,  sung  from  day  to  day,  from 
sabbath  to  sabbath,  cannot  but  influence,  at  least 
as  widely  and  profoundly,  her  tone  of  feeling,  and 
her  religious  views.  Expressing,  as  they  will  neces- 
sarily do,  in  the  first  instance,  something  of  the  prin- 
ciples, the  spirit,  the  prominent  desires  and  aims  of 
those  who  adopt  them  as  the  matter  of  their  praise, 
they  must  react  with  no  little  energy  and  efficacy 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  worshippers  as  they  thus  use 
them.  They  impress  their  image  deeply  by  con- 
stant use  and  consequent  familiarity.  Hence,  it 
occurs,  by  no  means  unfrequently,  that  songs  com- 
posed by  uninspired  poets,  acquire  in  ihe  estimation 
of  those  who  have  long  employed  them  in  their  de- 
votions, a  character,  little,  if  any,  less  sacred  than 
that  which  attaches  to  the  word  of  God  itself.  How 
infinitely  important  then,  to  have  every  assurance 
that  our  'Psalmody'  be  not  only  sound  in  doctrine, 
but  Christ-like  in  tone,  spirit  and  sentiment !  How 
high  the  responsibility  resting  upon  those  who  take 
upon  themselves  to  frame  and  establish  a  Church's 
songs  of  devotion  ! 

3.  The  Church's  Psalmody  should  be  fixed,  sta- 
ble, permanent.  Like  her  faith,  it  should  be,  as 
nearly  as  possible,  unchanging.     Intimately  asso- 


INTRODUCTION.  VU 

ciatccl  as  it  is  with  lier  spiritual  life,  tlie  matter  of 
her  praise  should  not  be  liable  to  fluctuate  and 
change  with  the  fickle  movements  of  public  senti- 
ment and  the  Vacillations  which  ever  mark  the 
tastes  of  human  society.  Her  faith  is  "one''  (Eph. 
iv.  5;)  her  songs  should  also  be  ever  the  same. 
It  is  something  here,  moreover,  to  be  identified 
with  the  worthies  and  witnesses  of  the  past  in 
singino;  the  same  Psalms  which  have  sustained  and 
cheered  the  saints  of  God,  and  faithful  servants 
of  Christ  in  their  day  of  trial  and  of  death ;  and 
something  more  that  our  children  after  us  become 
identified  with  us,  not  only  in  perusing  the  same 
Bible,  in  loving  the  same  Saviour,  in  seeking  the 
same  salvation,  but  also  in  singing  at  the  domestic 
altar,  in  their  social  and  public  assemblies,  and  in 
gathering  around  the  table  of  the  Lord,  the  same 
sacred  songs. 

Our  answer  to  the  inquiries  which  have  been  sug- 
gested, has,  no  doubt,  been  already  anticipated. 
AVe  believe  most  firmly,  that  we  have  been  pro- 
vided with  a  manual  of  praise  in  that  part  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  styled  "The  Book  of  Psalms,^'  and 
that  this,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  uninspired  songs, 
should  be  in  a  literal  translation,  sung  in  the  wor- 
ship af  God.  For  the  reasons  which  constitute  the 
grounds  of  our  faith  in  this  matter,  we  refer  the 
reader  to  the  sequel  of  this  volume.    We  may,  how- 


Till  INTRODUCTION. 

ever,  premise  a  few  general  reflections.  And  1. 
In  using  "The  Book  of  Psalms/^  we  are  on  safe 
ground.  It  is  a  part  of  the  inspired  Scriptures:  of 
course,  like  other  parts  of  the  same  sacred  volume, 
indited  hj  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  (2  Sam.  xxiii,  2, 
1  :^et.  i.  11,  2  Pet.  i.  21,)  and  as  such  must  be 
immaculate  in  doctrine,  and  right  in  tone  and 
spirit.  It  is  permanent.  Whatever  changes  time 
and  the  consequent  various  usage  of  language  may 
render  necessary  in  the  words  of  a  given  transla- 
tion, the  Book  itself  is  a  portion  of  that  word  of 
Grod  which  "abideth  for  ever.''  While  other  sys- 
tems of  Psalmody — the  composures  of  men, — are 
ever  changing,  this  remains  to  instruct  and  edify 
the  saints  of  God  throughout  all  generations. 
Once  appointed  of  God  to  be  sung  in  celebrating 
His  praise,  we  can  now  employ  its  language  with 
no  apprehension  that  He  will  meet  us  with  the 
alarming  inquiry,  '^Who  hath  required  this  at 
your  hands?" 

2.  In  advocating  the  exclusive  use  of  "The 
Book  of  Psalms,''  we  advocate  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tian Union.  We  well  know,  indeed,  that  diversity 
of  judgment  and  of  practice  in  this  matter,  is  not 
the  only  occasion  and  source  of  ecclesiastical  separa- 
tion, but  it  is  one  of  the  roots  of  this  baneful  Upas. 
And,  in  so  far  as  disunion  does  arise  from  this 
cause,  how  shall  it  cease?  upon  what  basis  shall 


INTRODUCTION.  ix 

we  meet?  We  can  see  no  other  than  that  of  a 
Psalmody  which  presents  this  high  claim — that  it 
is  the  acknowledged  gift  of  Grod  himself  to  men. 
Were  it  even  so,  that  we  were  warranted  to  make, 
each  his  own  songs,  and  sing  them,  surely  we 
cannot  claim  the  right  to  impose  these  upon  our 
brethren,  or  compel  them  to  sit  silent  in  our  reli- 
gious assemblies!  Concession — if  there  must  be 
concession, — should,  by  all  means,  come  from  those 
who,  at  most,  can  only  claim  permission — who  do 
not  even  profess,  if  we  understand  them,  to  possess 
in  their  favour,  divine  institution:  who  cannot  as- 
sert, at  any  rate,  that  their  compositions  bear  the 
direct  and  unmistakeable  impress  of  Christ^s  au- 
thority: an  impress  so  clear  that  he  who  refuses  to 
use  them,  limiting  himself  to  the  inspired  Psalms, 
is  guilty  of  despising  an  ordinance  of  Christ.  Here, 
then,  is  a  common,  because  a  Bible  ground,  on 
which,  so  far  as  one  great  and  prominent  cause  of 
division  is  concerned,  we  may  meet  and  harmonize. 
This  consideration  should,  we  think,  address  it- 
self with  peculiar  force  to  the  Churches  which 
trace  their  origin  to  the  Reformation  church  in  the 
British  islands.  Our  fathers  were  once  united  in 
singing  praise  to  God  in  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible. 
Why  are  their  descendants,  so  many  of  them,  now 
severed  in  this  matter  of  praising  God?  There 
can  be  but  one  reply.     By  the  introduction  into 


X  INTRODUCTION. 

the  worship  of  God,  of  songs  of  human  comiDositlon; 
or  of  Psalms  which  profess  to  be  no  more  than 
^'Imitations'^  of  those  of  the  Bible.  How,  then 
is  this  cause  of  separation  and  alienation  to  be  re- 
moved? By  the  universal  return  to  the  one,  de- 
finite, permanent  and  safe  basis — the  Psalms  in- 
dited by  the  Holy  Ghost.  We  are  well  satisfied, 
thatt6-c  are  not  chargeable  with  perpetuating  schism, 
because  we  adhere  in  our  praises  to  the  very  mat- 
ter provided  for  us  by  Him  whose  praises  we  cele- 
brate. 

But  are  there  not  already  before  the  Church, 
able  and  excellent  works  advocating  our  views  in 
this  respect?  There  are.  We  gratefully  acknow- 
ledge the  fact:  but  still  feel  ourselves  justified  in 
adding  another  volume  to  the  list.  These  works 
are  now,  mostly,  difficult  of  access,  because  chiefly 
out  of  the  market:  some  of  them  are  in  the  form 
of  criticisms  upon  essays,  &c.,  defending  human 
compositions;  some  of  them  are  written,  and  wisely, 
with  an  eye  to  local  circumstances:  all  have  their 
peculiar  excellencies,  which  we  aim  at  combining, 
as  far  as  possible,  in  one  volume. 

In  this  last  remark,  we  indicate  the  character  of 
the  following  work — it  is  largely  a  compilation: 
and  we  have  made  free  use  of  the  remarks  of  Tho- 
luck  in  the  Introduction  to  his  Commentary  on  the 
Psalms — and  have  quoted  on  some  points  largely 


INTRODUCTION.  XI 

from  the  works  of  E-ev.  Vi'm.  Sommerville  of  Nova 
Scotia;  of  Dr.  Pressly  of  Allegheny,  of  Mr.  Gordon 
and  of  Dr.  M'Master.  The  criticism  on  Col.  iii. 
16,  is  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Cooper  of  this  city.  In 
all  cases,  our  quotations  are  distinguished  by  the 
marks  usually  employed,  ^Yhile  throughout  we  have 
introduced  as  was  judged  seasonable,  other  argu 
ments  and  answers  to  objections,  not  noticed,  or 
fully  considered,  according  to  our  views,  elsewhere; 
and  also  the  necessary  connecting  links:  for  these 
the  chairman  of  the  Committee  is  chiefly  responsi- 
ble. Thoroughly  satisfied  that  the  subject  is  one 
that  eminently  deserves  careful  investigation,  we 
commend  this  effort  to  vindicate  principles  which 
we  regard  as  most  important  to  the  purity  and  unity 
of  the  Christian  church,  to  the  devout  and  prayerful 
examination  of  the  candid  inquirer  after  truth  and 
duty,  and  to  the  blessing  of  Him  who  ^'inhabiteth 
She  praises  of  Israel." 


c 


prihcetoit 
theological/' 

THE  TRKE^S^ImODY 


THE  BIBLE  PSALMS,  THE  MATTER  OF  THE 
CHURCH'S  PRAISE. 


CHAPTER  L 

THE    BOOK  OF    PSALMS    IS  A  COMPLETE    MANUAL 
OF  PRAISE. 

I.  It  presents  the  most  comprehensive  delineation 
of  the  perfections  of  God;  and  of  the  character  of 
His  government.  '^Here/^  in  the  words  of  Tho- 
luck,  "  is  God  praised,  who,  before  the  mountains, 
the  earth,  and  the  world  had  been  created,  is  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting — who  surrounds  his  crea- 
tures, inquiring  everywhere — whose  presence  can- 
not be  avoided,  whether  in  heaven  above,  or  the 
depth  below — from  whom  darkness  cannot  hide — 
who  reigns  as  the  Lord  omnipotent,  from  the  be- 
ginning, in  the  heavens — who  thunders  in  his 
might — who  telleth  the  number  of  the  stars,  and 
calleth  them  all  by  their  names — who  is  good  unto 
all,  has  compassion  on  all  his  works,  and  giveth  food 
2  13 


14  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

to  tlie  young  ravens  wliicli  cry — who  delighteth 
not  in  the  strength  of  the  horse  nor  the  legs  of  a 
man,  but  taketh  pleasure  in  them  that  fear  him 
and  hope  in  his  mercy — who,  like  as  a  father 
pitieth  his  children,  pitieth  those  that  fear  him, 
and  dealeth  not  with  us  after  our  sins,  nor  rewardeth 
us  according  to  our  iniquities.  Whatever  truths 
and  praises  can  be  said  of  the  wisdom,  eternity, 
omnipotence,  holiness,  and  mercy  of  God,  are  ex- 
pressed in  the  Psalms,  such  as  Psalms  xc.  xci. 
xcvii.  xxxiii.  ciii.  civ.  and  cxxxix.  Here  is  a  piety 
which,  on  the  one  hand  losing  itself  full  of  praise 
in  the  care  of  God,  as  in  Psalm  cxix.,  preserves  on 
the  other,  a  clear  and  opened  eye  for  his  glory  in 
nature,  before  whose  view  the  declaration  in  the 
book  of  the  law  and  that  in  the  book  of  nature  en- 
tirely commingle,  (Psalm  xix.)  Here  we  have 
the  unceasing  praise  of  God — in  gloomy  as  well 
as  in  joyous  days,  for  mercies  temporal  and  spiri- 
tual— in  every  variety  of  tone  and  expression. 
iThe  last  psalms  (cxlvii.  cxlviii.  and  cl.,)  the  many- 
; toned  echo  of  the  entire  book,  or  like  the  end  of  a 
long  chain,  call  with  their  unceasing  ^Praise  ye 
the  Lord,'  upon  Israel  and  all  mankind,  the  heights 
and  the  depths  and  the  heavenly  spirits,  to  offer 
the  sacrifice  of  their  praise  to  the  Lord.  Those 
who  adhere  to  the  erroneous  opinion  (Psalms  xxix. 
civ.  cxlv.)  that  the  God  of  Israel  was  the  God  of 


A  CO^rPLETE  MANUAL  OF   PRAISE.  15 

the  nation  only  in  that  sense,  that  the  people  be- 
lieved, besides  Him,  in  other  though  impotent 
heathen  deities,  may  derive  more  correct  views  from 
the  Psalms.  ^  For  God  is  the  King  of  all  the 
earth:  sing  ye  praises  with  understanding.  God 
reigneth  over  the  heathen :  God  sitteth  upon  the 
throne  of  his  holiness.'  (Psalm  xlvii.  7,  8.)  '0 
God  of  our  salvation,  who  art  the  confidence  of  all 
the  ends  of  the  earth,  and  of  them  that  are  afar  off 
upon  the  sea.'  (Psalm  Ixv.  5.)  *  Among  the 
gods  there  is  none  like  unto  thee,  0  Lord;  neither 
are  there  any  works  like  unto  thy  works.  All  na- 
tions whom  thou  hast  made  shall  come  and  worship 
before  thee,  0  Lord,  and  shall  glorify  thy  name. 
For  thou  art  great,  and  doest  wondrous  things: 
thou  art  God  alone.'  (Psalm  Ixxxvi.  8 — 10.") 
^^  Contrasted  with  the  gods  of  the  heathen,  which 
are  less  than  their  worshippers,  which  have  eyes 
and  see  not,  and  ears  and  hear  not — the  God  of 
Israel  appears  as  the  living  God,  who  governs  the 
world,  and  that  in  righteousness;  who  maintaineth 
the  right  and  cause  of  the  innocent,  and  sitteth  en- 
throned as  the  righteous  Judge,  (Psalm  ix.  5;) 
whothroweth  the  ungodly  into  a  ditch,  and  causeth 
their  desire  to  perish,  (Psalms  vii.  17;  cxii.  10;) 
who  preserveth  the  soul  of  His  saints,  and  deli- 
vereth  them  out  of  the  hand  of  the  wicked,  (Psalm 
xcvii.  10;)  who  heareth  the  cry  of  the  righteous, 


16  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

(Psalm  xsxiv.  18;)  delivereth  them  out  of  all 
trouble,  and  maketh  their  eyes  to  see  their  desire 
upon  their  enemies,  (Psalm  liv.  9;)  who  causeth 
the  godly  to  prosper  in  whatsoever  he  doeth,  (Psalm 
i.  3.)  In  a  word,  these  Psalms  express  the 
truths,  so  manifest  and  momentous,  that  the  go- 
vernment of  the  one  true  God,  of  even  this  world 
which  he  has  Himself  created,  is  based  on  justice 
— that  evil  is  ever  condemned  by  its  inflexible 
laws — that  its  condemnation  will  sooner  or  later  be 
visible  to  all  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  while  to  all, 
"Light  is  sown  for  the  righteous,  and  gladness  for 
the  upright  in  heart,"  (Ps.  xcvii.  2.*) 

//.  The  Living  God  is  praised  in  these  PsalmSj 
as  subsisting  in  Three  Persons,  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost.  We  here  adopt  the  language  of 
Mr.  Gordon.  "Three  persons  in  one  Godhead, 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  is  the  God  to  whom 
they  ascribe  praise.  If  it  could  be  shown,  that 
they  spoke  only  of  the  Father,  and  of  him  obscurely, 
it  would  be  a  very  weighty  objection  against  em- 
ploying them  in  Christian  worship ;  for  the  glorious 
mystery  of  the  Trinity  is  most  clearly  revealed  to 
us,  and  ought  to  enter  into  our  praises.  But  no- 
thing is  more  evident  than  this,  that  the  object  of 
all  their  ascriptions  is.  Three  in  One.     It  cannot 

*  Tholuck's  Com.  on  Psalms,  pp.  33,  34 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  17 

be  denied,  that  they  employ  the  name  JcJiovah  in 
the  same  sense  in  which  it  is  used  in  other  parts 
of  Scripture;  and  every  one  who  believes  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Trinity,  will  admit,  that  this  name  is 
applied  to  each  of  the  persons.     This  much  will 
shoWj  that  a  trinity  of  persons  is  discernible  in  the 
Psalms.     But  we  find  each  of  the  three  persons 
particularly  mentioned:    'He  shall  cry  unto  me, 
Thou  art  my  Father,  my  Grod,  and  the  Rock  of 
my  salvation ' — 89th,  verse  26.     Upon  reading  the 
Psalm  carefully  over,  it  will  appear,  that  the  speaker 
in  this  verse  is  God  the  Father,  the  first  person  of 
the  Trinity.     The  person  spoken  of,  is  called  Da- 
vid.    God  showed  great  mercy  unto  David,  and 
conferred  many  remarkable  blessings  upon  him ; 
admitted  him  to  great  nearness,  and  gave  him  a 
very  high  character, — he  was  a  man  according  to 
God's  own  heart  ]  yet  it  will  be  impossible  to  find 
a  proper  application  for  all  that  is  here  said,  in  his 
history.     Many  things  are  here  said,  that  cannot 
be  predicated  of  any  creature,  viz.  'Thy  seed  will 
I  establish  for  ever,  and  build  up  thy  throne  to  all 
generations' — 'Then  thou  spakest  in  vision  to  thy 
Holy  One,  and  saidst,  I  have  laid  help  on  one  that 
is  mighty — He  shall  cry,  Thou  art  my  Father' — 
*I  will  make  him  my  first  born,  higher  than  kings 
of  any  land.     His  seed  also  will  I  make  to  endure 
for  ever,  and  his  throne  as  the  days  of  heaven.' 
2* 


18  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

But  to  him  who  was  David's  Son  according  to  the 
flesh,  and  who  is  often  in  Scripture  called  David, 
they  will  apply  with  the  utmost  propriety;  and  of 
him  are  they  spoken.  Here,  then,  are  the  Father 
and  the  Son  both  mentioned. 

"  In  the  47th  Psalm,  the  Holy  Ghost  calls  to 
shout  with  the  voice  of  triumph  3  and  the  reason 
he  assigns  for  it  is,  ^God  has  gone  up  with  a  shout; 
the  Lord  with  the  sound  of  a  trumpet.'  Then  he 
calls  on  the  church  to  break  forth  in  rapture: 
'Sing  praise  to  God;  sing  praise,  sing  praise  unto 
our  King;  sing  praises,  for  God  is  King  of  all  the 
earth ;  sing  praises  with  understanding;  God  reign- 
eth  over  the  heathen.' — To  no  event  other  than 
the  ascension  and  inauguration  of  Christ  to  his 
throne,  can  this  passage  possibly  be  ap.plied.  "When 
God,  in  human  nature,  went  up  to  the  third  hea- 
vens, in  triumph  over  his  enemies,  He  went  up  as 
King  of  all  the  earth ;  for  all  power  both  in  hea- 
ven and  earth  was  given  into  his  hand;  and  he 
was  by  a  special  relation.  King  of  the  church.  He 
went  up  with  a  right  to  take  possession  of  the  hea- 
then as  his  inheritance.  So  that  every  circum- 
stance perfectly  agrees  with  this  description ;  and 
we  conclude  with  a  full  conviction,  that  it  is  God 
the  Son,  incarnate,  who  is  here  receiving  the  praise 
of  the  church.  The  same  event  is  described  in  the 
68th,  from  the  18th  verse  to  the  end,  where  solemn 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OP  PRAISE.  19 

praise  is  offered  up  unto  Christ  as  Lord.  And  the 
proper  application  of  this  passage  is  settled  in  Eph. 
iv.  7. 

In  the  2d  Psalm,  the  ineffable  Sonship  is  ex- 
pressed: 'Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day  have  I  be- 
gotten thee.'*  In  the  45th,  his  Deity  and  the 
eternity  of  his  kingdom  are  asserted:  'Thy  throne, 
0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever.'f  In  the  102d, 
creating  power  is  ascribed  unto  the  Son:  'And 
thou,  Lord,  in  the  beginning,  hast  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  earth;  the  heavens  also  are  the  works 
of  thy  hands. 't 

In  the  51st,  the  Holy  Ghost  is  introduced : '  Take 
not  thy  Holy  Spirit  away;  stay  me  with  thy  free 
Spirit.'  In  the  104th,  creating  power  is  ascribed 
to  him  :  'Thou  sendest  forth  thy  Spirit,  they  are 
created'  And  in  the  139th,  we  are  taught  to 
ascribe  omniscience  to  him:  '  Whither  shall  I  go 
from  thy  Spirit,  or  flee  from  thy  presence  ?'"§ 

///.  The  Psalms  furnisli  a  full  and  accurate 
exhibition  of  man^s  natural  state  and  character 
before  God,  and  in  contrast  loith  His  ineffable  ma- 
jesty and  holiness:  thus  summed  up  by  the  same 
eminent  writer  from  whom  we  have  already  quoted. 
"Our  apprehension  of  the  majesty  and  holiness  of 

^  Heb.  i.  5.         f  Heb.  i.  8.         %  Ibid,  verse  10. 
§  Alexander  Gordon's  "Design  and  Use  of  the  Book  of 
Psalms,"  Phila.  1822.     Mr.  Gordon  was  pastor  of  the 
Associate  Presbyterian  congregation,  Guinston. 


20  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

God  should  be  accompanied  by  a  sense  of  our  own 
nothingness  and  sin."  The  Psalmist,  alludjjng  to 
the  statement  in  Genesis,  speaks  of  man  as  made 
a  little  lower  than  God,  (Luther,)  that  God  hath 
put  all  things  under  his  feet,  and  glories  in  the 
fact  that  man,  though  externally  more  helpless 
than  any  other  creature,  does  by  virtue  of  his  God- 
like soul  wield  the  government  of  nature.  (Ps.  viii.) 
Yet  how  defective  is  that  dominion  at  present! 
(^Vide  ad.  Ps.  viii.  7.)  How  small  is  the  manifes- 
tation of  that  dignity,  the  capacity  of  which  man 
certainly  possesses ;  how  circumscribed  and  hum- 
bling his  present  bodily  existence ;  how  much  ex- 
posed to  accident  and  how  soon  destroyed  !  Hence 
David  says,  ^The  Lord  knoweth  our  frame :  he  re- 
membereth  that  we  are  dust.  As  for  man,  his 
days  are  as  grass  :  as  a  flower  of  the  field,  so  he 
flourisheth.  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it  and  it 
is  gone,  and  the  place  thereof  shall  know  it  no 
more.'  (Ps.  ciii.  14 — 16.)  ^Surely  men  of  low  de- 
gree are  vanity,  and  men  of  high  degree  a  lie  :  to 
be  laid  in  the  balance,  they  are  altogether  lighter 
than  vanity.'  (Ps.  Ixii.  9.)  And  in  the  eighth 
Psalm,  which  celebrates  the  dignity  of  man,  he  ex- 
claims, in  contemplation  of  the  infinity  and  great- 
ness of  God  in  his  works,  'What  is  man,  that  thou 
art  mindful  of  him,  and  the  son  of  man,  that  thou 
visitest  him?'  Thus  do  the  Psalms  speak  of  the 
impotency  and  finiteness  of  man.     Thus  our  perish- 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  21 

able  condition  is  by  no  means  the  necessary  and 
absolute  barrier  of  created  existence,  but  the  eflfect 
of  internal  discord  originated  by  sin.  It  manifests 
*the  wrath  of  God  because  of  sin/  (Cf.  Ps.  xc.  7 
— 9.)  The  authors  of  the  Psalms  are  so  alive  to  a 
sense  of  guilt,  that  the  voice  of  their  conscience  is 
audible  amid  all  the  accidental  trials  and  sorrows 
of  life  and  the  mischiefs  perpetrated  by  enemies, 
and  that  they  acknowledge  the  justice  of  the  Di- 
vine chastisements.  (Ad.  Ps.  xxsviii.  21;  cxli.  5.) 
They  feel  themselves  not  entitled  to  the  reception 
of  Divine  blessings  without  the  confession  of  their 
unworthiness.  The  exultant  spring  song  of  praise 
in  Psalm  Ixv.  is  preceded  by  a  confession  of  sin. 
They  acknowledge  that  were  God  to  enter  into 
judgment  with  man,  and  to  mark  his  iniquities, 
none  could  stand  before  him  ;  (Ps.  cxxx.  3  j  cxliii. 
2;  cf.  1  Kings  viii.  46;  Eccl.  vii.  21;  Job  ix.  2; 
xiv.  4;  XV.  14-16;)  that  unconscious  sin,  regarded 
as  a  condition  which  apparently  contradicts  the  ori- 
ginal of  a  pure  and  holy  human  kind,  needs  the 
Divine  forgiveness;  that  sinfulness  does  not  enter 
into  our  nature  by  imitation  from  without,  but  that 
it  is  in  us  from  the  first  stages  of  our  existence. 
(Ps.  li.  7.)  Far  from  seeking  a  ground  for  justi- 
fication in  our  native  depravity,  David  made  that 
confession  to  indicate  the  sincerity  of  his  repent- 
ance and  to  show  that  he  was  alive  to  the  full  ex- 


22  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

tent  of  his  guilt.  What  au  evidence  of  the  depth 
of  the  perception  of  sin  is  furnished  in  expressions 
of  pain  and  grief  Uke  those  in  Psalm  xxxii.  'My 
bones  waxed  old  through  my  roaring  all  the  day 
long:  my  moisture  is  turned  into  the  drought  of 
summer.'  While  natural  reason  talks  only  of  tres- 
passes against  the  moral  law  or  man,  and  on  that 
account  remains  so  cold  at  the  commission  of  sin, 
every  transgression  is  regarded  in  the  Fsalms  as  a 
trespass  against  the  Divine  word  and  the  living 
God,  whose  will  originates  the  moral  law.  'Thy 
word  have  I  hid  in  my  heart,  that  I  might  not  sin 
against  thee.'  (Ps.  cxix.  11.)  Conscious  of  his 
greatest  offence  against  man,  he  cries,  'Against 
thee,  thee  only,  have  I  sinned,'  rightly  apprehend- 
ing that  the  most  objectionable  element  of  sin  is 
its  encroachment  upon  the  Divine  law  and  the 
proof  of  man's  wilful  separation  from  and  opposi- 
tion to  God.  Where  is  to  be  found  a  more  touch- 
ing confession  of  a  guilt-convicted  conscience  than 
in  Psalm  xxxii.  3,  4?  '  When  I  kept  silence  (in- 
tended to  conceal,)  my  bones  waxed  old  through 
my  roaring  all  the  day  long.  Por  day  and  night  thy 
hand  was  heavy  upon  me:  my  moisture  is  turned 
into  the  drought  of  summer.'  The  Psalmists  occa- 
sionally speak  of  innocence  and  the  purity  of  their 
hands,  (Ps.  vii.  9;  xviii.  21 — 26;  xvii.  3;  xxvi. 
2 — 6;    xli.  13,)  but   the   preceding   observations 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  23 

clearly  show  that  they  refer  not  to  absolute  integrity 
before  God,  but  rather  to  guiltlessness  towards  man. 
In  Psalm  xxxviii.  the  experience  of  affliction  awakes 
a  painful  sense  of  guilt  in  David,  and  yet  he  gives 
expression  to  the  consciousness  of  his  innocence. 
He  says  (Ps.  Ixix.  4,)  'They  that  hate  me  without 
a  cause,  are  more  than  the  hairs  of  mine  head,'  and 
then  adds,  '0  God,  thou  knowest  my  foolishness: 
and  my  sins  are  not  hid  from  thee.'  (Cf.  in  Ps.  xxv. 
verses  7, 11,  18,  with  verses  19-21,  and  in  Ps.  xli. 
verse  5,  with  verse  13.)  The  assertion  of  his 
purity  in  Psalm  xvii.  3,  4,  is  preceded  by  'Lot 
my  sentence  come  forth  from  thy  presence:  let 
thine  eyes  behold  the  things  that  are  equal.'  It 
is  incontestably  clear  from  Psalm  vii.  3-5,  that 
David  refers  in  verse  8,  'Judge  me,  0  Lord,  ac- 
cording to  my  righteousness  and  according  to  mine 
integrity,  that  is  in  me,'  to  righteousness  and  in- 
tegrity in  relation  to  specific  accusations.  And  if 
such  were  not  the  case,  might  not  a  man,  while 
assuring  us  of  the  sincerity  of  his  piety,  be  at  the 
same  time  conscious  of  daily  tailings  and  multiform 
guilt  ?  Such  sincerity  shows  itself  when  we  de- 
light in  the  commandments  of  God,  and  strive  to 
obey  them;  though  the  surmounting  of  obstacles 
constitutes  the  business  of  this  life.  Who  would 
have  expected  a  confession  of  sin  (Ps.  xl.  12,)  after 
the  description  of  a  heart  so  completely  resigned  to 


24  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

the  will  of  God,  as  that  which  precedes  it?  The 
same  Asaph  who  declares  God  to  be  his  sole  con- 
solation and  portion,  was  not  far  from  joining  in 
the  outrage  of  the  wicked,  'that  there  is  no  right- 
eous God  in  heaven/  (Ps.  Ixxiii.)  How  frequently 
occur  expressions  like  these:  'I  will  keep  thy 
statutes,  I  will  not  forget  thy  word,'  in  Psalm 
cxix. ;  but  that  prevents  not  David  from  praying, 
'Let  thy  merciful  kindness  be  for  my  comfort." 
(Ps.  cxix.  76.)  It  is  to  be  noticed,  that  however 
much  the  Psalmists  refer  to  their  integrity,  they 
never  demand^  but  supplicate  aid  and  deliverance 
at  the  hands  of  the  righteous  God :  that  they  hope 
in  that  name  by  which  the  Lord  had  named  him- 
self, (Exod.  xxxiv.  6,)  'Merciful  and  gracious, 
long-suffering,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth.' 
(Psalms  xxxi.  4;  xl.  12;  Ixix.  30:  cxix.  77;  xli. 
4;  XXV.  11 ;  Hi.  11;  Ixxix.  9;  ciii.  8 ;  cxlv.  8.'^*) 

IV.  The  Psalms  are  full  of  Christ.  As  this  is 
a  fact,  vital  to  our  argument,  we  enter  somewhat 
into  detail ;  for  the  Psalms  exhibit  our  Saviour, — 

(1.)  In  His  Person,  incarnation  and  exaltation. 
We  employ  the  words  of  Sommerville:  "When  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  would  teach  the  Hebrews 
the  superiority  of  Christ  to  all  angels — that  he  is 
^God  over  all,  blessed  for  ever,'  the  object  of  wor- 

*Tholuck's  Introd.,  pp.  37-39. 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF   PRAISE.  25 

ship  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  he  appeals  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  Book  of  Psalms.  Of  seven  quota- 
tions, in  the  first  chapter  of  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, from  the  Old  Testament,  six  are  from  the 
Psiilms  of  David;  and  some  have  supposed  that  the 
seventh  is  from  the  same  book.  To  show  the  neces- 
sary subserviency  of  the  incarnation  of  Christ  to 
the  work  of  redemption,  he  refers  to  the  Book  of 
Psalms,  in  three  cases  out  of  four.  (Heb.  i.  ii.) 
To  prove  the  paramount  claim  of  IMessiah,  as  a 
prophet  and  legislator,  in  comparison  with  Moses 
himself,  Paul  adduces  the  Psalms.  (Heb.  iii.  iv. 
1—13.)  When  he  would  show  the  divine  origin, 
the  dignity,  the  efficiency,  the  permanence  of  the 
priesthood  of  Christ,  its  superiority,  in  both  sacri- 
fice and  intercession,  to  the  Aaronic,  he  turns  to 
the  Psalms.  (Heb.  iv.  v.)  When  he  brings  for- 
ward the  doctrine  of  his  ascension  to  the  right  hand 
of  the  Father,  and  his  investiture  with  universal 
authority,  he  shows  that  the  same  is  taught  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms."  (Ptom.  xv.  25-28 ;  Heb.  ii.  8,  9.)* 
(2.)  Ill  all  His  Offices:  ^'As  Grod-man,  he  sus- 
tains a  three-fold  office,  viz.  of  a  prophet,  of  a 
priest,  and  of  a  king.  As  a  prophet  he  teaches  the 
church,  and  leads  his  brethren  into  the  knowledge 
of  the  name  of  God,  viz.,  of  what  God  is,  what  he 

*  Sommerville  on  Psalmody,  pp.  107-108,  ed.  1858. 
3 


26  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

has  donCj  and  wliat  he  will  in  due  time  perform ; 
and  these  heads  comprehend  all  that  ever  has  been 
or  will  be  revealed  of  the  perfections  and  purposes 
of  God.  In  the  2 2d  Psalm,  he  declares  his  pur- 
pose and  inclination  to  this  great  work:  '  I  will  de- 
clare thy  name  unto  my  brethren ;  in  the  midst  of 
the  congregation  will  I  praise  thee/  verse  22.  In 
ihe  40th,  he  speaks  of  this  work  as  already  accom- 
plished: 'I  have  preached  righteousness  in  the 
great  congregation:  Lo,  I  have  not  refrained  my 
lips,  0  Lord,  thou  knowest.  I  have  not  hid  thy 
righteousness  within  my  heart;  I  have  declared 
thy  faithfulness  and  thy  salvation :  I  have  not  con- 
cealed thy  loving-kindness  and  thy  truth  from  the 
great  congregation/  verses  9.  10.  It  is  evident 
that  the  same  person  speaks  in  the  verses  imme- 
diately before,  who  speaks  in  these;  and  all  may  be 
satisfied  that  it  is  Christ  who  speaks,  by  reading 
the  5th  to  the  9th  verses  inclusive,  of  the  10th 
chapter  of  the  Hebrews. 

"Of  his  priesthood  we  have  a  most  particular 
account,  in  the  110th  Psalm:  'The  Lord  hath 
sworn,  and  will  not  repent,  Thou  art  a  priest 
for  ever,  after  the  ord.er  of  Melchizedek,^  verse  4. 
In  the  40th,  we  find  him  entering  on  the  discharge 
of  this  ofl&ce:  'Lo,  I  come:  in  the  volume  of  the 
•book  it  is  written  of  me.  To  do  thy  will,  0  my 
God,  I  take  delight;  yea,  thy  law  is  within  my 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  27 

heart/  ver.  7,  8.  In  contemplation  of  his  combat 
witli  the  powers  of  darkness,  and  his  endurance  oi 
the  punishment  of  the  sins  which  he  had  taken 
upon  himself,  he  prays  in  the  remainder  of  the 
Psalm  for  Divine  assistance.  And  while  engaged 
in  presenting  his  one  offering,  through  the  eternal 
Spirit,  without  spot  unto  God,  his  thoughts  and 
feelings  are  expressed  in  a  most  moving  manner, 
in  the  22d;  and  in  the  31st,  we  have  the  very 
words  with  which  he  poured  out  his  soul  unto 
death:  'Into  thy  hand  I  commit  my  spirit,'  verse  5. 
His  anointing  set  him  apart  also  to  the  office  of 
King  of  the  church,  and  head  over  all  things.  In 
the  2d  Psalm  this  is  particularly  mentioned:  'Yet 
have  I  set  my  King  upon  my  holy  hill  of  Zion,' 
verse  6.  In  the  45th  and  89th,  we  find  the  per 
petuity  of  his  throne  and  kingdom:  'Thy  throne, 
0  God,  is  for  ever  and  ever' — ^'His  seed  and  throne 
shall  endure  as  the  days  of  heaven.'  In  the  same 
45th,  and  also  in  the  7 2d,  we  have  the  nature  of 
his  government  described:  'The  sceptre  of  thy  king- 
dom is  a  right  sceptre' — 'He  shall  judge  the  peo- 
ple with  righteousness,  and  the  poor  with  equity.' 
In  the  16th,  his  resurrection  from  the  dead  is  ce- 
lebrated; in  which  he  arose  as  a  mighty  conqueror 
over  death  and  him  that  had  the  power  of  it : — 
'Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell,  nor  suffer  thy 
Holy  One  to  see  corruption,'  verse  10.   (Acts  ii. 


28  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

27-31.)  His  triumphant  ascent  into  the  third 
heavens,  we  have  ah-eady  seen,  is  celebrated  in  the 
47th:  *God  is  gone  up  with  a  shout,  the  Lord  with 
the  sound  of  a  trumpet;'  and  in  the  68th,  'Thou 
hast  ascended  up  on  high ;  thou  hast  led  captivity 
captive;  thou  hast  received  gifts  for  men/  The 
triumph  with  which  he  was  received  into  paradise, 
is  expressed  in  the  24th  :  'Lift  up  your  heads,  0 
ye  gates;  even  lift  them  up,  ye  everlasting  doors; 
and  the  King  of  glory  shall  come  in.  Who  is  this 
King  of  glory?  The  Lord  of  hosts,  he  is  the  King 
of  glory,'  verses  9, 10.  In  the  110th,  the  Psalmist 
speaks  of  his  inauguration:  'The  Lord  said  unto 
my  Lord,  Sit  thou  at  m}'  right  hand  until  I  make 
thine  enemies  thy  footstool,'  verse  1.  (Heb.  x.  12, 
13.)  The  universal  authority  which  he  will  exer- 
cise, till  the  period  come  when  his  wrath  shall 
kindle  against  his  enemies,  and  burn  to  the  lowest 
hell,  is  described  in  the  2d  and  8th,  which  last 
compare  with  Heb.  ii.  6,  7,  8.""^ 

(3.)  In  His  tenderness  and  compassion,  His 
fidelity  and  constancy.  He  is  the  "shepherd," 
compassionate  and  bountiful,  (Ps.  xxiii.  Ixxx.) 
The  Almighty  and  vigilant  guardian,  (Ps.  cxxi.) 
The  faithful  .and  gracious  rewarder,  (Ps.  x^dii.) 
More  faithful  and  constant  than  father  or  mother, 

*  Gordon,  pp.  38-41. 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  29 

(Ps.  xxvii.)  The  sure  portion  of  the  believer,  and 
of  the  redeemed  and  glorified,  (Ps.  xvi.  Ixxiii. 
cxix.) 

(4.)  Ill  the  extensive  triumphs  of  His  Gospel 
and  KiiKjdom.  Thus  when  the  apostle  Paul  would 
trace  the  setting  up  of  a  ministry,  &c.,  in  the 
church  for  the  "  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ,'' 
he  quotes  (chap.  18,)  from  the  Book  of  Psalms. 
When  he  would  confirm  the  right  of  the  Gentiles 
to  the  Gospel  and  its  privileges,  he  again  resorts 
to  the  Book  of  Psalms:  ''Now  I  say  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  a  minister  of  the  circumcision  for  the 
truth  of  Go(f,  to  confirm  the  promises  made  unto  the 
fathers ',  and  that  the  Gentiles  might  glorify  God 
for  his  mercy:"  as  it  is  written,  "For  this  cause, 
I  will  confess  to  thee  among  the  Gentiles,  and  sing 
unto  thy  name.  And  again,  praise  the  Lord  all  ye 
Gentiles,  and  laud  him  all  ye  people."  (Rom.  xy. 

8, 9,  n^) 

No  less  clearly  do  the  Psalms  exhibit,  "The  sub- 
jugation of  his  enemies,  implying  the  confounding 
of  Satan's  policy,  and  the  destruction  of  his  king- 
dom; with  all  those  interests  that  hang  upon  it, 
viz.,  Pagan  idolatry,  Popish  superstition,  and  Ma- 
homedan  delusion.  And  the  extension  of  his  king- 
dom, which  implies  the  difi"usion  of  Gospel  Lnow- 

*  Sommerville,  p.  109. 


30  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

ledge,  bj  the  various  means  of  grace;  tlie  conver- 
sion of  the  Jews,  and  the  Gentile  nations,  to  the 
true  religion.  (To  accomplish  all  this,  we  have 
reason  to  expect  an  abundant  outpouring  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.)  An  outline  of  all  these  great  events 
V^e  have  beautifully  foretold  in  the  72d.  It  ap- 
plies indeed  to  Solomon  and  his  kingdom,  as  types; 
but  it  applies  truly  and  properly  to  Christ  and  his 
kingdom.  'He  shall  judge  thy  people  with  right- 
eousness, and  thy  poor  with  judgment. — He  shall 
judge  the  poor  of  thy  people,  he  shall  save  the  chil- 
dren of  the  needy,  and  shall  break  in  pieces  the  op- 
pressor.'— Such  is  the  character  of  his  administra- 
tion. 'He  shall  come  down  like  rain  upon  the  mown 
grass;  and  as  showers  that  water  the  earth:'  such 
the  abundant  influences  of  his  Holy  Spirit.  'He 
shall  have  dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea,  and  from 
the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  that 
dwell  in  the  wilderness  shall  bow  before  him. — 
The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  the  isles  shall  bring  pre- 
sents: the  kinsrs  of  Sheba  and  Seba  shall  offer  s;ifts. 
Yea,  all  Idngs  shall  fall  down  before  him ;  all  na- 
tions shall  serve  him. 

•  "  And  he  shall  live,  and  to  liim  shall  be  given 
c^  the  gold  of  Sheba.' — Such  shall  be  the  extent 
and  prosperity  of  his  kingdom.  'There  shall  be  a 
handful  of  corn  in  the  earth,  on  the  top  of  the 
mountains ;  the  fruit  thereof  shall  shake  like  Leba- 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  31 

non,  and  thcj  of  the  city  shall  flourish  like  grass 
of  the  earth/  Such  will  be  the  glorious  success  of 
the  everlasting  Gospel,  by  which  the  immortal  seed 
of  the  word  shall  be  sown,  until  ^all  nations  shall 
call  him  blessed/  and  'the  whole  earth  shall  be 
filled  with  his  glory  ;'  which  is  the  highest  and  last 
wish  of  David  the  son  of  Jesse,  and  of  all  true 
Christians."  * 

(5.)  Even  'in  most  of  the  leading  'particidars  of 
of  his  life.  The  following  have  been  selected  by 
Sommerville,  ''1st.  The  rejection  of  Christ  by  the 
Jewish  doctors.  'The  stone  which  the  builders 
refused,  is  become  the  head  of  the  corner.  This 
is  the  Lord's  doing;  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes.' 
The  application  of  these  words  is  made  by  Jesus 
himself,  and  twice  by  Peter.  Compare  Matt.  xxi. 
42:  Acts  iv.  11:  1  Pet.  ii.  7 — 8,  with  Ps.  cxviii. 
22 23. 

"2d.  The  circumstances  of  his  public  entrance 
into  Jerusalem  are  declared  in  the  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy. '  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings 
hast  thou  ordained  strength,  because  of  thine  ene- 
mies, that  thou  mightest  still  the  enemy  and  the 
avenger.'  The  Saviour  points  out  the  application 
of  these  words.  He  enters  Jerusalem,  seated  on 
an  ass,  attended  by  a  multitude,  some  spreading 

*  Gordon,  pp.  48-49. 


32  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

their  garments  ia  the  way,  some  strewing  branches 
all  proclaiming,  'Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David, 
blessed  is  he  that  cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  : 
Hosanna  in  the  highest:'  and  he  displays  his 
authority  as  a  Son  over  his  own  house  by  turning 
those  out  of  the  temple  who  had  converted  his 
Father's  residence  into  a  place  of  merchandise. 
^And  when  the  chief  priests  and  scribes  saw  the 
wonderful  things  that  he  did,  and  the  children 
crying  in  the  temple,  and  saying,  Hosanna  to  the 
Son  of  David;  they  were  sore  displeased,  and  said 
unto  him,  Hearest  thou  what  they  say?  And 
Jesus  saith  unto  them.  Yea :  have  ye  never  read. 
Out  of  the  mouth  of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast 
perfected  praise?'  The  priests  and  scribes  are 
silent.  The  enemy  and  avenger  is  stilled.  Com- 
pare Ps.  viii.  2,  with  Matt.  xxi.  5 — 16. 

''3d.  In  the  Psalms  the  combination  of  all  na- 
tions against  the  Saviour  is  revealed.  'The  kings 
of  the  earth  set  themselves,  and  the  ruler^  take 
counsel  together,  against  the  Lord  and  against  his 
anointed,  saying,  Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder 
and  cast  away  their  cords  from  us.'  And  we  learn 
the  views  of  the  disciples  respecting  the  passage 
from  the  following  words:  'For  of  a  truth  against 
thy  holy  child  Jesus,  whom  thou  hast  anointed, 
both  Herod  and  Pontius  Pilate,  with  the  Gentiles 
and  the  people  of  Israel,  were  gathered  together, 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF   PRAISE.  33 

for  to  do  whatsoever  tliy  hand  and  thy  counsel  de- 
termined before  to  be  done.'  Ps.  ii.  2 — o,  com- 
pared with  Acts  iv.  26 — 28. 

^'4th,  The  partition  of  Christ's  raiment^  when  he 
is  being  crucified,  with  the  particular  mode  by 
wliich  his  seamless  coat  was  disposed  of,  is  set  be- 
fore us  in  the  Book  of  Psalms.  '  They  part  my 
garment  among  them,  and  cast  lots  upon  my  ves- 
ture.' How  literally  was  this  verified  in  the  man 
of  Nazareth !  So  literal  was  the  accomplishment, 
that  no  man  can  doubt  that  Messiah  speaks  in  the 
twenty-second  Psalm,  by  the  mouth  of  David.  As 
the  words  of  the  Son  of  David,  it  was  received  by 
the  Evangelist.  'Then  the  soldiers,  when  they 
had  crucified  Jesus,  took  his  garments  and  made 
four  parts,  to  every  soldier  a  part:  and  also  his 
coat:  now  the  coat  was  without  seam,  woven  from 
the  top  throughout.  They  said,  therefore,  among 
themselves,  Let  us  not  rend  it,  but  cast  lots  for  it, 
whose  it  shall  be:  that  the  Scripture  might  be  ful- 
filled, Which  saith,  They  parted  my  raiment  among 
them,  and  for  my  vesture  they  did  cast  lots.'  (John 
xix.  23,  24.) 

^'5th.  The  Jews  read  and  sang  in  the  Psalms 
the  Saviour's  pathetic  expression  of  his  sense  of  de- 
sertion, in  the  hour  when  the  powers  of  darkness 
were  let  loose,  and  his  expression  of  confidential  re- 
liance when   about  to  give  up  the   ghost.     'My 


34  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

God^  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  Into 
thine  hand  I  commit  my  spirit/  Ps.  xxii.  1  and 
xxxi.  5,  compared  with  Matt,  xxvii.  46,  and  Luke 
xxiii.  46/'* 

In  all  this  detail,  we  have  but  furnished  some 
examples  for  the  purpose  of  showing  how  compre- 
hensive is  the  view  presented  by  this  inspired 
manual  of  the  Person,  offices,  works,  life  and  tri- 
umphs of  the  Church's  Eedeemer  and  King: 
enough  to  satisfy  the  considerate  and  candid  that 
we  need  not  to  sing  of  Christ,  and  celebrate  his 
work  of  mediation,  pass  beyond  its  limits. 

V.  The  Psalms  contain  the  inchest  fund  of  Chris- 
tian experience.  They* abound,  as  we  have  already 
seen,  in  acknowledgments  of  the  felt  insignificancy 
of  man.  There  are  to  be  found  in  them,  heart- 
broken confessions  of  sin  in  its  guilt,  defilement 
and  power,  (Psa,  li.  xix.  xxxii.  cxxx.,  &c.:)  most 
earnest  supplications  for  pardon,  (Psa.  xxx.  &c.:) 
these  prayers  addressed  to  God  as  a  merciful  God, 
and  in  dependence  upon  the  "blood  of  sprinkling,'' 
(Ps.  li.  xxxii.  &c. :)  a  deep  and  abiding  sense  of  the 
absolute  need  of  divine  teaching,  and  of  the  help 
of  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  (Ps.  xxx.  li.  cxxxix.:)  ar- 
dent spiritual  desires  and  affections,  (Ps.  xliii.  xliv. 
Ixiii.  Ixxiii.  cxix.:)  strong  faith,  sometimes  con- 

*  Sommerville,  pp.  109-112. 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  35 

flicting  with  remaining  unbelief,  (Ps.  iii.  iv.  &c. :) 
gratitude  and  thanksgiving  on  almost  every  page: 
hopes  of  heavenly  blessedness,  (Ps.  xvi.  Ixxiii.:) 
deepinterest  in  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  of  friends, 
of  brethren,  of  mankind,  (Ps.  cxxii.  xxx  v.  xcv.  xcvi. 
cxix.  &c. :)  the  duty  and  the  happy  results  of  true 
Christian  unity,  (Ps.  cxxii.  cxxxiii. :)  happy  anti- 
cipations of  the  church's  millenial  glory  and  peace, 
extension  and  prosperity,  (Ps.  Ixxii.  xcvi.  &c.:) 
adoring  praise  every  where  throughout  the  Psalms, 
rising  to  the  loftiest  strains,  (Ps.  cxlix.  cl. :)  high 
esteem  of  the  word  of  God,  and  devout  recognition 
of  His  law,  in  its  extent,  purity,  spirituality  and 
obligation,  (Ps.  xix.  xxv.  cxix.) 

Such  is  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  more  than  this. 
Such  too,  has  been  the  estimate  ever  put  upon  it 
by  the  most  eminent  Christians,  and  Christian 
teachers,  ancient  and  modern.  We  furnish  some 
of  their  sayings.  Chrysostom  says,  "The  grace  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  hath  so  ordered  it,  that  the  Psalms 
of  David  should  be  recited  and  sung  night  and 
day.  In  the  Church's  vigils — in  the  morning — at 
funeral  solemnities — the  first,  the  midst,  and  the 
last,  is  David.  In  private  houses,  where  virgins 
spin — in  the  monasteries — in  the  deserts,  where 
men  converse  with  God — the  first,  the  midst,  and 
the  last,  is  David.  In  the  night  when  men  sleep, 
he  wakes  them  up  to  sing;  and  collecting  the  ser- 


36  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

vants  of  God  into  angelic  troops,  turns  eartli  into 
heaven,  and  of  men  makes  angels,  chanting  Da- 
vid's Psalms/'  Athanasius,  bishop  of  Alexandria, 
in  the  fourth  century^  says,  "They  appear  to  me  a 
mirror  of  the  soul  of  every  one  who  sings  them ; 
they  enable  him  to  perceive  his  own  emotions,  and 
to  express  them  in  the  words  of  the  Psalms.  He 
who  hears  them  read  receives  them  as  if  they  were 
spoken  for  him.  Conscience-struck,  he  will  either 
humbly  repent,  or  hearing  how  the  trust  of  be- 
lievers was  rewarded  by  God,  rejoice  as  if  his  mercy 
were  promised  to  him  in  particular,  and  begin  to 
thank  God.  Yes,  in  its  pages  you  find  portmyed 
man's  whole  life,  the  emotion  of  his  soul  and  the 
frames  of  his  mind.  We  cannot  conceive  of  any- 
thing richer  than  the  Book  of  Psalms.  If  you 
need  penitence,  if  anguish  or  temptation  have  be- 
fallen you,  if  you  have  escaped  persecution  and  op- 
pression, or  are  immersed  in  deep  affliction,  con- 
cerning each  and  all  you  may  find  instruction,  and 
state  it  to  God  in  the  words  of  the  Psalter!"  Let 
us  add  Ambrose,  the  pious  bishop  of  Milan,  in  the 
fourth  century :  "  The  law  instructs,  history  informs, 
prophecy  predicts,  correction  censures,  and  morals 
exhort. — In  the  Book  of  Psalms  you  find  the  fruit 
of  all  these,  as  well  as  a  remedy  for  the  salvation 
of  the  soul.  The  Psalter  deserves  to  be  called,  the 
praise  of  God,  the  glory  of  man,  the  voice  of  the 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE  37 

Church,  and  the  most  beneficial  confession  of  faith. 
The  Psalms  teach  me  to  avoid  sin,  and  to  tmlearn 
my  being  asA«7?ie<'7  of  repentance.  In  the  Psalms, 
delight  and  instruction  vie  with  one  another:  we 
sing  for  enjoyment,  and  read  for  instruction." 
Augustine  relates  with  deep  feeling,  in  his  Con- 
fessions, what  a  treasure  the  Psalms  were  to  him 
at  the  time  of  his  conversion:  "How  did  I  then," 
says  he  in  addressing  God,  "converse  with  thee^ 
when  I  read  the  Psalms  of  David,  those  songs  full 
of  faith,  those  accents  which  exclude  all  pride!. 
How  did  I  address  thee  in  those  Psalms;  how  did 
they  kindle  my  love  to  thee;  how  did  they  animate 
me,  if  possible,  to  read  them  out  to  the  whole  world 
as  a  protest  against  the  pride  of  the  human  race. 
And  yet  they  are  sung  in  the  whole  world,  ^no- 
thing is  hid  from  their  heat/*  How  violent  was 
my  indignation  against  the  ^lanichaeans  (the  here- 
tical sect,  who  entirely  rejected  the  Old  Testament,) 
and  yet  felt  pity  for  their  not  knowing  those  holy 
riches,  those  remedies,  and  their  raging  against  the 
antidote  that  might  have  healed  them.  I  wish 
they  had  been  at  my  side — yet  without  my  know- 
ledge— beheld  my  countenance  and  heard  my  voice, 
when  I  read  the  fourth  Psalm — what  a  blessing  it 
was  to  me!     Oh,  that  they  could  have  heard — but 

*  A  beautiful  allusion  to  Psalm  xix.  7. 


38 


THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 


without  my  knowledge  of  their  being  within  hear- 
ing (lest  they  should  fancy  I  were  speaking  for 
their  sakes,) — what  I  said  to  thee  at  the  occasion 
of  those  words."  He  then  states  with  profound 
emotion,  what  passed  in  his  soul  at  the  reading  of 
every  separate  verse  of  that  Psalm.'' 

The  words  of  Luther^ s  pregnant  Preface  to  the 
Psalter  are  well  known:  we  make  from  it  the  fol- 
lowing extract:  ^'The  human  heart  is  like  a  vessel 
in  a  tempestuous  sea,  tossed  to  and  fro  by  the 
storms  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  world.     Fear 
and  care  of  future  mishap  are  roaring  here;  grief 
and   sadness   on   account  of  present   evil   there. 
Hope  and  courage  respecting  future  happiness  are 
blowing  here;  while  assurance  and  joy  on  account 
of  present  good  are  sounding  there.     Such  tem- 
pests teach  one  to  be  in  earnest  now  to  open,  and 
now  to  pour  out  one's  heart.     He  who  is  in  fear 
and  trouble  talks  in  other  strains  about  mishap  than 
he  who  lives  in  joy;   and  he  who  lives  in  joy  in 
other  strains  about  joy  than  he  who  lives  in  fear. 
It  comes  not  from  the  heart  (they  say)  when  a  sad 
one  tries  to  laugh  and  a  glad  one  to  weep;  i.  e. 
his  heart  is  neither  opened  nor  poured  out.     But 
what  do  you  find  most  in  the  Psalms?     Earnest 
speech  in  all  manner  of  tempests.     Where  can  you 
find  more  appropriate  expressions  of  joy  than  in 
the  Psalms  of  praise  and  thanksgiving?     You  look 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE  39 

riffht  into  the  heart  of  saints,  as  into  fair  and  plea- 
sant  gardens  or  heaven  itself,  and  behold  beautiful^, 
lausihinrr,  and  delicate  flowers  of  all  manner  of  fair 
and  joyous  thoughts  towards  God  and  his  love 
springing  lustily  into  life.  Again,  where  can  you 
find  more  profound,  plaintive,  and  wretched  words 
of  grief  than  in  the  Psalms  of  complaint?  Once 
more,  you  look  into  the  heart  of  saints  as  into 
death  or  hell.  How  gloomy  and  dark  their  mourn- 
ful visions  of  God!  So  again,  when  the  Psalms 
speak  of  fear  and  hope,  they  abound  in  words  so 
significant,  that  no  painter  could  thus  portray,  no 
Cicero  nor  orator  thus  describe  them.'^  Let  us 
now  hear  Calvin.  In  the  Preface  of  his  Exposi- 
tion of  the  Psalms,  he  mentions  with  holy  earnest- 
ness the  blessing  he  himself  had  derived  from  being 
engaged  in  that  work,  and  the  aid  with  which  his 
own  experience,  both  temporal  and  spiritual,  fur- 
nished him  in  the  Exposition  of  the  Psalms  of  the 
Bible.  But  let  him  speak  for  himself.  ^^If  the 
reading  of  my  Commentaries  yield  to  the  Church 
of  God  as  much  blessing  as -their  preparation  has 
conferred  upon  me,  I  shall  never  repent  having 
undertaken  the  task."  "Xot  without  good  grounds 
am  I  wont  to  call  this  book  an  anatomy  of  all  parts 
of  the  soul,  since  no  one  can  experience  emotions, 
whose  portrait  he  could  not  behold  reflected  in  its 
mirror.     Yes.  the  Holy  Spirit  has  there  depicted 


40  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

in  the  most  vivid  manner  every  species  of  pain, 
affliction,  fear,  doubt,  hope,  care,  anxiety,  and  tur- 
bulent emotion,  through  which  the  hearts  of  men 
are  chased.     Other  portions  of  the  Scriptures  con- 
tain commandments,  whose  transmission  the  Lord 
enjoined  upon  his  servants;  but  in  the  Psalms,  the 
Prophets  communing  with   God   and  uncovering 
their  inmost  feelings,  call  and  urge  every  reader  to 
self-examination  to  such  a  degree,  that  of  the  nu- 
merous infirmities  to  which  we  are  liable,  and  of 
the  many  failings  which  oppress  us,  not  one  re- 
mains concealed.     How  great  and  rare  again  for 
the  human  heart  to  be  thus  driven  out  of  all  its 
hiding-places,  liberated  from  hypocrisy  (that  most 
fearful  of  vices,)  and  exposed  to  the  light.     Lastly, 
if  calling  on  God  is  the  surest  means  of  our  salva- 
tion— if  better  and  more  reliable  directions  for  it 
than  those  contained  in  the  Book  of  Psalms  are  not 
to  be  obtained,  then  every  one  who  reads  this  book 
has  attained  to  an  essential  part  of  the  Divine  doc- 
trine.    Earnest  prayer  originates  in  our  sense  of 
.need ;  afterwards  in  our  faith  in  the  Divine  promises. 
The  reader  of  the  Psalms  finds  himself  both  aroused 
to  feel  his  misery,  and  exhorted  to  seek  for  its  re- 
medy.    You  cannot  read  anywhere  more  glorious 
praises  of  God's  peculiar  grace  towards  his  Church 
or  of  his  works ;  you  cannot  find  anywhere  such  an 
enumeration  of  man's  deliverances  or  praises  for 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  41 

the  glorious  proofs  of  his  fatherly  care  for  us,  or  a 
more  perfect  representation  to  praise  him  becoming- 
ly, or  more  fervent  exhortations  to  the  discharge 
of  that  holy  duty.  But  however  rich  the  book 
may  prove  in  all  these  respects  to  fit  us  for  a  holy, 
pious  and  just  life,  its  cAie/ lesson  is  how  we  are  to 
feear  the  cross,  and  to  give  the  true  evidence  of  our 
obedience,  by  parting  with  our  affections,  to  sub- 
mit ourselves  to  God,  to  suffer  our  lives  to  be  en- 
tirely guided  by  his  will,  so  that  the  bitterest  trial, 
because  he  sends  it,  seems  sweet  to  us.  Finally, 
not  onlj  is  the  goodness  of  God  praised  in  general 
terms  to  secure  our  perfect  resignation  to  him,  and 
to  expect  his  aid  in  every  time  of  need,  but  the  free 
forgiveness  of  our  sins,  which  alone  can  effect  our 
peace  of  conscience  and  reconciliatioji  to  God,  are 
in  particular  so  strongly  recommended,  that  there 
is  nothing  wanting  to  the  knowledge  of  eternal 
life."*  Tholuch  himself  says,  "Who  can  remain 
untouched  on  hearing  the  v7ords  of  David  at  the 
beginning  of  the  Psalm  of  thanksgiving,  which  he 
sung  towards  the  close  of  his  life,  and  which  may 
be  regarded  as  the  result  of  his  experience  of  life? 
^I  will  love  thee,  0  Lord,  my  strength.'  (Psalm 
xviii.  1.)  'Thou  art  my  Lord,  all  my  goods  I  pre- 
fer not  to  thee.'  (Psalm  xvi.  2.)  ^This  I  know,  for 

*  Tholuck's  Com.,  pp.  5-9. 
4* 


42  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

God  is  for  meJ  No  Christian  could  describe  in 
sweeter  language  the  peace  of  recouciliation  than 
we  find  it  done  in  Psalms  xvi.  xxiii.  ciii.  Ixxiii. 
xxvi.  xxvii.  Ixxi.  14-24,  etc.  How  happy  must 
have  been  their  communion  with  God  who  say, 
^How  excellent  is  thy  loving-kindness,  0  God! 
therefore  the  children  of  men  put  their  trust  under 
the  shadow  of  thy  wings:  they  are  abundantly  sa- 
tisfied with  the  fatness  of  thy  house,  and  thorj 
makest  them  drink  of  the  river  of  thy  pleasures/ 
(Psalm  xxxvi.  8,  9.)  'Blessed  is  the  man  whom 
thou  choosest  and  causest  to  approach  unto  thee, 
that  he  may  dwell  in  thy  courts ;  we  shall  be  satis- 
fied with  the  goodness  of  thy  house,  even  of  thy 
holy  temple/  (Psalm  Ixv.  5.)  'Thy  loving-kind- 
ness is  better  than  life — when  I  remember  thee 
upon  my  bed,  and  meditate  on  thee  in  the  night 
watches/  (Psalm  Ixiii.  4,  7/'*)  We  add  the 
well-known  testimony  of  the  eminent  Edwards. 
''The  oil  that  was  used  in  anointing  David  was  a 
type  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  the  type  and  the 
anti-type  were  given  both  together,  as  we  are  told, 
1  Sam.  xvi.  13.  '  Then  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
came  upon  David  from  that  day  forward.' — One 
way  that  his  Spirit  influenced  him  was  by  in- 
spiring him  to  show  forth  Christ,  and  the  glorious 
things  of  his  redemption,  in  divine  songs,  sweetly 


*  Ibid.  p.  39-40. 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  PRAISE.  43 

expressing  the  breathings  of  a  pious  soul,  full  of 
the  admiration  of  the  glorious  things  of  the  Re- 
deemer, inflamed  with  divine  love  and  elevated 
praise;  and  therefore  he  is  called  the  sweet  Psalm- 
ist of  Israel,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  1.  The  main  subjects 
of  these  songs  were  the  glorious  things  of  the  gos- 
pel, as  is  evident  by  the  interpretation  that  is  often 
put  upon  them,  and  the  use  that  is  made  of  them 
in  the  New  Testament;  for  there  is  no  one  book 
of  the  Old  Testament  that  is  so  often  quoted  in  the 
New,  as  the  book  of  Psalms.  Joyfully  did  this 
holy  man  sing  of  those  great  things  of  Christ's  re- 
demption, that  had  been  the  hope  and  expectation 
of  God's  church  and  people  from  the  beginning, — 
and  joyfully  did  others  follow  him  in  it,  as  Asaph, 
Heman,  and  others. — Here  Christ  is  spoken  of — 
in  multitudes  of  songs,  speaking  of  his  incarnation, 
life,  death,  resurrection,  ascensioji  into  heaven,  his 
satifaction,  intercession ;  his  prophetical,  hiiujlij, 
and  priestly  office ;  his  glorious  benefits  in  this  life 
and  that  which  is  to  come;  his  union  with  the 
church,  and  the  blessedness  of  the  church  in  him; 
hds  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  the  future  glory  of  the 
church  near  the  end  of  the  world,  and  Chrises 
coming  to  the  final  judgment.  All  these  things, 
and  many  more,  concerning  Christ  and  his  redemp- 
tion, are  abundantly  spoken  of  in  the  Eook  of 
Psalms.'' 


44  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

'^This  was  a  glorious  advancement  of  the  affair 
of  redemption,  as  God  hereby  gave  his  church  a 
book  of  divine  songs  for  their  use  in  that  part  of 
their  public  worship,  namely,  singing  his  praise 
throughout  all  ages  to  the  end  of  the  icorld.  It  is 
manifest  the  hooh  of  Psalms  was  given  of  God  for 
this  end.  It  was  used  in  the  church  of  Israel  hy 
God's  appointment.  And  we  find  that  the  same 
are  appointed  in  the  New  Testament  to  be  made 
use  of  in  the  Christian  church,  in  their  worship : 
Eph.  V.  19  ;  Col.  iii.  16 — In  Psalms,  hymns,  and 
spritual  songs.  So  they  have  been,  and  will,  to 
the  end  of  the  loorld,  be  made  use  of  in  the  church 
to  celebrate  the  praises  of  God."  ^'The  Psalms  of 
David  were  penned  for  the  use  of  the  Church  of 
God  in  its  public  worship,  not  only  in  that  age,  but 
in  other  ages;  as  being  fitted  to  express  the  religion 
of  all  saints,  in  all  ages,  as  well  as  the  religion  of 
the  Psalmist." 

"They  present  religion  to  us,"  says  Bishop 
Some,  *'in  its  most  engaging  dress;  communi- 
cating truths  which  philosophy  could  never  inves- 
tigate, in  a  style  which  poetry  can  never  equal ; 
while  history  is  made  the  vehicle  of  prophecy,  and 
creation  lends  all  its  charms  to  paint  the  glories  of 
redemption." 

What  more  does  the  Church  require?  In  these 
Psalms  of  the  Bible,  we  may  celebrate  the  glorious 


A  COMPLETE  MANUAL  OF  TRAISE.  45 

perfections  of  our  God,  and  his  righteous  and  be- 
nevolent dominion  over  the  earth,  and  the  heavens: 
we  may  express  our  most  humble  and  evangelical 
convictions  of  insignificancy  and  unworthiness,  in 
contrast  with  the  ineffable  majesty,  the  immaculate 
purity,  the  infinite  righteousness  of  Jehovah:  we 
may  contemplate  in  these  inspired  songs,  and  mag- 
nify the  Person,  work,  grace  and  fulness  of  Jesus 
Christ:  we  are  here  furnished  with  language  in 
wnich  to  express  the  most  lowly,  as  also  the  most 
enlarged  and  elevated  gracious  affections:  we  are 
here  provided  with  prayers  and  arguments  to  en- 
force our  petitions,  suited  to  every  emergency  and 
every  trial:  as  we  sing  these  Psalms,  we  may  anti- 
cipate with  sure  hope,  the  future  deliverances, 
triumphs,  prosperity  and  universal  extension  of 
the  Church  of  Christ  on  earth,  with  the  entire  sub- 
jugation or  utter  ruin  of  her  enemies  and  his;  and 
thus  foresee  with  joy  and  praise,  the  glorious  issue 
of  the  dispensation  of  mercy,  in  the  ultimate  estab- 
lishment of  the  mediatorial  dominion  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth;  reaching  forth  to  the  final  judgment  and 
to  the  unseen  glories  of  the  heavenly  state  and  the 
everlasting  blessedness  of  God's  redeemed. 

Why,  then,  any  other  book  of  Psalms  or  hymns? 
And  should  not  the  very  fact,  that  such  a  book,  so 
complete  and  perfect,  has  been  given  to  the  Church, 
go  far  to  satisfy  us  that  no  other  manual  of  praise 


46  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

was  ever  to  supersede  this — tliat  none  can  take  its 
place,  or,  with  God's  approbation,  come  in  compe- 
tition with  it  ? 


CHAPTER  11. 

THE  BOOK  OF  PSALMS  HAS  THE  SEAL  OF  DIVINE 
APPOINTMENT,  WHICH   NONE   OTHER  HAS. 

I.  These  Psalms  have  the  seal  of  Divine  ap- 
pointment. We  give  the  argument,  and  the  his- 
tory of  the  ordinance  of  praise  in  the  words  of  Dr. 
Pressly.  ''If  it  can  be  made  to  appear  to  the  sa- 
tisfaction of  the  reader,  that  the  songs  contained  in 
the  book  of  Psalms  were  given  to  the  church  to  be 
used  iu  celebrating  the  praise  of  God,  it  will  then 
be  admitted  that  the  point  in  dispute  is  settled ;  for 
with  all  who  receive  the  Bible  as  the  rule  of  faith, 
it  is  a  received  principle,  that  in  the  worship  of 
God,  divine  appointment  is  our  guide.  What  evi- 
dence, then,  have  we,  that  the  psalms  and  hymns 
and  songs  contained  in  the  book  of  Psalms,  were 
appointed  by  God,  to  be  used  in  the  celebration  of 
his  praise  ? 

^'The  divine  inspiration  of  the  book  of  Psalms, 
will  be  admitted  by  all  who  are  interested  in  the 
present  discussion.  Though  it  must  be  confessed 
that  language  is  sometimes  employed  by  those  who 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  47 

plead  for  the  use  of  hymns,  in  relation  to  those 
divine  songs  contained  in  the  hook  of  Psalms,  which 
is  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  reverence  which  is 
due  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  which  would  seem 
to  indicate,  that  in  reality  they  are  regarded  as 
the  productions  of  mere  human  genius.  They 
who  denominate  some  of  these  sacred  hymns  "curs- 
ing psalms,"  and  represent  the  Psalmist  as  giving 
vent  to  feelings  of  malevolence  towards  his  per- 
sonal enemies,  surely  do  not  regard  him  as  one  by 
whose  mouth  the  Holy  Ghost  spake.  But  however 
incautiously  and  irreverently  some  men  may  have 
spoken  of  these  divine  songs,  yet  all  who  believe  in 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  will  admit  that 
the  book  of  Psalms  is  the  Word  of  God,  and  is,  in 
common  with  other  parts  of  the  Bible,  the  rule  of 
faith  and  practice.  But  while  the  book  of  Psalms 
is  a  revelation  from  God,  and  is,  in  common  with 
the  rest  of  the  lively  Oracles,  profitable  for  instruc- 
tion in  righteousness,  it  is  profitable  especially  as 
containing  matter  adapted  to  a  particular  purpose. 
In  this  book,  the  high  praises  of  our  God  are  cele- 
brated by  the  divine  Spirit,  who  "searcheth  all 
things;  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God;'^  and  there- 
fore, these  songs  are  profitable  to  the  church  espe- 
cially, for  the  purpose  of  praising  God,  which  is 
an  end  to  which  some  other  parts  of  divine  revela- 
tion are  not  adapted.     Every  thing  contained  in 


48  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

the  sacred  volume  is  useful  to  the  church  of  God ; 
but  some  portions  of  the  word  of  revelation  are 
more  appropriate  to  one  purpose,  while  others  are 
more  especially  adapted  to  another.  And  the  book 
of  Psalms  is  adapted  to  the  edification  of  the  church 
of  God,  especially  as  furnishing  matter  suitable  to 
be  employed  in  singing  God's  praise.  That  these 
songs  were  given  to  the  church  to  be  sung  in  the 
worship  of  God,  is  evident  from  the  peculiar  cha- 
racter of  their  matter;  the  titles  by  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  designates  them,  and  from  the  use  which 
was  originally  made  of  them  by  the  church  of  God. 
^^The  matter  of  these  divine  songs  is  peculiar, 
and  indicates  the  particular  end  for  which  they 
were  intended.  Here,*  the  glory  of  Jehovah  is 
celebrated  in  the  sublimest  strains  of  Eastern  poe- 
try, as  displayed  in  the  works  of  creation  and  of  re- 
demption ;  and  the  church  is  furnished  with  sui- 
table matter  for  praising  God,  for  his  goodness, 
wisdom,  power,  love  and  mercy  manifested  in  the 
salvation  of  man,  the  preservation  of  the  church, 
and  the  government  of  the  world.  As,  then,  the 
peculiar  character  of  the  contents  of  any  composi- 
tion, manifests  the  end  for  which  it  was  intended; 
as  from  its  matter,  we  know  that  one  composition 
is  a  political  essay;  another,  is  a  philosophical  sptcu- 

*  See  Chap.  I. 


DIVINELY  APrOINTED.  49 

lation  ;  and  a  third,  is  a  biographical  sketch  of  some 
distino-uished  individual;  so  from  the  matter  of  the 
book  of  Psalms,  we  learn  that  its  peculiar  design  is 
the  celebration  of  God's  praise,  and  that  it  was 
given  to  the  church  to  be  employed  peculiarly  for 
that  purpose.  '  Praise  ye  the  Lord ;  for  it  is  good 
to  sing  praises  to  our  God;  for  it  is  pleasant,  and 
praise  is  comely.'  These  divine  songs  abound 
with  ascriptions  of  praise  to  God,  and  with  urgent 
calls  addressed  not  only  to  the  church  in  her  col- 
lective capacity,  but  to  all  classes  of  men,  to  engage 
in  this  delightful  exercise: — 'Praise  the  Lord,  0 
Jerusalem!  praise  thy  God,  0  ZionI'  'Let  every 
thing  that  hath  breath,  praise  the  Lord.' 

^'The  titles  which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  employed 
to  designate  these  divine  hymns,  indicate  the  par- 
ticular use  for  which  they  were  intended.  The 
reader  will  please  to  remember  what  has  been  said 
in  a  preceding  chapter,  on  the  words  of  the  Apos- 
tle, when  he  exhorts  the  church  to  engage  in  the 
duty  of  singing  'psalms  and  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs.'  It  is  believed  that  no  interpretation  of  the 
Apostle's  language  can  be  sustained,  which  does 
not  proceed  upon  the  principle,  that  there  is  a  re- 
ference to  the  different  songs  contained  in  the  book 
of  Psalms.  And  this  being  admitted,  it  will  fol- 
low, that  we  have  an  explicit  divine  direction  to 
employ  these  songs  in  the  worship  of  God.  But 
6 


50  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

independent  of  this  consideration,  it  is  undeniable, 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  appropriates  to  this  collection 
of  sacred  songs,  the  title,  'the  book  of  Psalms,'  or 
songs  of  praise.  By  this  title  they  are  referred  to 
repeatedly  in  the  New  Testament.  For  example, 
our  Lcrd,  when  speaking  with  reference  to  this 
portion  of  divine  revelation,  says,  'David  himself 
saith  in  the  book  of  Psalms.'  (Luke  xx.  42.)  And 
in  accordance  with  this,  is  the  language  of  the 
Apostle  Peter:  'It  is  written  in  the  book  of  Psalms/ 
(Acts  i.  20.)  The  word  'psalm,'  is  of  Greek  de- 
rivation, and  comes  from  a  word  which  signifies  to 
sing.  Psalms,  then,  are  songs  which  are  to  be 
sung.  And  by  giving  to  this  collection  of  sacred 
songs,  the  title  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  the  Holy 
Spirit  recognised  them  as  songs  of  praise  to  be  sung 
in  the  wo^-ship  of  God.  That  these  songs  were  ori- 
ginally used  by  the  church  in  singing  the  praise  of 
God,  is  a  matter  of  historical  record. 

"Since,  then,  the  book  of  Psalms  is  a  collection 
of  songs  given  to  the  church  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
the  matter  of  which  indicates,  that  their  peculiar 
design,  is  to  set  forth  the  praise  of  God ',  since  the 
Holy  Spirit  has  designated  this  collection,  'the 
book  of  Psalms,'  or  a  book  of  songs  of  praise;  since 
they  are  denominated,  'the  songs  of  Zion,'  and  'the 
songs  of  the  Lord;'  and  since  we  learn  from  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  that  these  songs  were  used  by  the 


DIVINELY  ArPOINTED.  51 

churcli  of  God,  with  divine  approbation  ;  therefore, 
we  conclude,  that  these  songs  were  given  to  tlie 
church  by  her  glorious  King,  to  be  employed  in 
singing  God's  praise. 

"That  the  force  of  the  argument  in  f^ivour  of 
the  divine  appointment  of  the  book  of  Psalms,  to 
be  employed  in  the  worship  of  God,  may  more 
clearly  appear,  it  may  be  of  advantage,  in  this  con- 
nexion, to  review  briefly,  the  history  of  this  part 
of  religious  worship,  as  it  maybe  deduced  from  the 
sacred  Scriptures. 

"In  the  primitive  ages  of  the  world,  the  worship 
of  the  Deity,  it  would  appear,  consisted  chiefly  in 
prayer,  in  connexion  with  the  offering  of  sacrifice. 
There  is  no  evidence  furnished  by  any  thing  con- 
tained in  the  sacred  history,  that  the  singing  of 
God's  praise  formed  any  part  of  the  regular  wor- 
ship of  God.  The  first  example  recorded  in  the 
Bible,  in  which  the  people  of  God  are  represented 
as  engaged  in  a  social  capacity,  in  this  exercise  of 
religious  worship,  is  on  the  occasion  of  that  signal 
display  of  the  divine  power  and  goodness,  mani- 
fested in  the  deliverance  of  Israel  at  the  Red  sea, 
while  their  Egyptian  adversaries  experienced  a  ter- 
rible overthrow.  'Then  sang  Moses  and  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  this  song  unto  the  Lord,  and  spake, 
saying,  I  will  sing  unto  the  Lord;  for  he  hath 
triumphed  gloriously ;  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath 


62  THE  TllUE  PSALMODY. 

lie  thrown  Into  the  sea.'  On  a  subsequent  occa- 
sion, Deborah,  a  prophetess,  furnished  a  song  com- 
memorative of  the  divine  goodness  in  delivering 
Israel  from  the  yoke  of  Jabin,  the  king  of  Canaan: 
^Tlien  sang  Deborah  and  Barak,  the  son  of  Abi- 
noam,  on  that  day,  saying,  Praise  the  Lord  for 
the  avenging  of  Israel/  At  that  time,  there  had 
not  yet  been  provided  a  book  of  Psalms,  contain- 
ing a  collection  of  songs,  adapted  to  the  diversified 
circumstances  of  God's  people.  Nov  have  we  any 
evidence  that  the  singing  of  God's  praise  consti- 
tuted any  part  of  the  stated  worship  of  Jehovah; 
but  when  the  circumstances  of  divine  providence 
called  for  a  public  expression  of  gratitude  to  God, 
some  individual  was  raised  up,  who,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Spirit  of  God,  furnished  a  song  suited 
to  the  occasion. 

"At  least  as  early  as  the  days  of  Samuel,  there 
"were  established  in  the  Hebrew  Commonwealth, 
schools  of  the  Prophets.  These  Seminaries  of  sa- 
cred learning  were  under  the  superintendence  of 
some  distinguished  Prophet,  and  in  them,  the  youth 
destined  to  the  prophetic  office,  were  employed  in 
the  study  of  divine  things.  Though  the  sacred 
history  has  given  us  but  little  information,  relative 
to  the  exercises  in  which  the  youth  in  these  schools 
were  employed,  we  learn  that  one  particular  part 
of  their  business  was  the  celebration  of  God's  praise, 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  53 

in  sacred  songs,  accompanied  by  instruments  of 
music,  Saul,  as  Samuel  had  foretold,  when  he  came 
to  the  hill  of  God,  which  was  the  seat  of  owe  of 
these  colleges,  was  met  by  a  company  of  prophets, 
who,  ^-prophesied  upon  the  psaltery,  and  tabret, 
and  pipe,  and  harp.'  And  seized  by  a  divine  im- 
pulse, Saul  joined  the.  company  and  prophesied 
also.  And,  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  Saul 
sent  messengers  to  Naioth,  to  apprehend  David,  we 
are  told  that  when  the  messengers  saw  the  com- 
pany of  prophets  prophesying,  and  Samuel  stand- 
ing as  appointed  over  them,  the  Spirit  of  God  was 
upon  the  messengers  of  Saul,  and  they  also  pro- 
phesied. Ey  prophesying,  in  these  examples,  is 
evidently  meant  the  celebration  of  God's  praise,  in 
sacred  songs,  under  a  divine  influence.  Accord- 
ingly, the  sons  of  Asaph  and  Jeduthun,  musicians 
in  the  temple,  are  represented  as  prophesying  with 
a  harp,  to  give  thanks,  and  to  praise  the  Lord. 

*'In  these  sacred  colleges  established  in  Israel, 
then,  it  appears  that,  among  other  employments, 
poetry  and  music  were  cultivated  by  the  sons  of  the 
prophets;  sacred  hymns  were  composed  under  a 
divine  influence,  and  were  sung  in  the  worship 
of  God,  accompanied  by  musical  instruments. 
Whether  any  of  the  hymns  composed  in  these 
schools  of  the  prophets,  have  been  transmitted  to 
us,  in  that  collection  of  sacred  songs  denominated 


54  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

the  book  of  Psalms,  we  have  cot  the  means  of  de- 
termining with  certainty. 

"At  length,  however,  in  the  person  of  David,  a 
prophet  was  raised  up,  whom  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  eminently  qualified  for  this  purpose;  who  not 
only  composed  a  great  variety  of  sacred  hymns,  but 
also  reduced  the  public  worship  of  God  into  a  re- 
gular system,  of  which  the  singing  of  praise  formed 
a  part.  That  David  was  divinely  qualified  for  this 
service,  and  called  to  it,  is  sufficiently  evident  from 
the  express  language  of  the  Bible.  "Now  these 
be  the  last  words  of  David:  David,  the  son  of  Jesse, 
said,  and  the  man  who  was  raised  up  on  high,  the 
anointed  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  the  sweet  Psalm- 
ist of  Israel  said,  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake  by 
me  and  his  word  was  in  my  tongue.'  (-  Sam.  xxiii. 
1,  2.)  In  the  worship  of  the  ancient  tabernacle, 
according  to  the  appointment  of  Moses,  the  Israel- 
ites were  directed  to  express  their  joy  in  God,  by 
blowing  with  trumpets  at  the  time  of  offering  the 
sacrifices.  'In  the  day  of  your  gladness,  and  in 
your  solemn  days,  and  in  the  beginnings  uf  your 
months,  ye  shall  blow  with  the  trumpets,  over  your 
burnt-ofi"erings  and  over  the  sacrifices  of  your  peace- 
offerings.'  (Numb.  X.  10.)  But  in  connexion  with 
the  offering  of  sacrifice,  David  introduced  the  sing- 
ing of  praise.  By  his  direction  the  Levites  were 
numbered  and  distributed  into  classes,  that  among 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  53 

other  services  connected  with  the  worship  of  the 
temple,  they  might  'stand  every  morning  to  thank 
and  to  praise  the  Lord,  and  likewise  at  evening/ 
(1  Chron.  xxiii.  oO.)  And  in  the  performance  of 
this  part  of  their  service,  the  custom  was,  that 
when  the  offering  was  presented  on  the  altar,  the 
Levites  began  to  sing  the  praise  of  God.  '  When 
the  burnt-offering  began,  the  song  of  the  Lord 
began  also,  with  the  trumpets  and  with  the  instru- 
ments ordained  by  David,  king  of  Israel/  (2  Chron. 
xxix,  27.)  And  that  these  regulations  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God  and  in  the  services  of  the  temple^  were 
made,  not  by  his  own  private  authority,  but  by 
divine  direction,  we  have  sufficient  evidence.  In 
the  instructions  which  David  gave  to  Solomon  with 
regard  to  the  temple  and  its  worship,  according  to 
'the  pattern  of  all  that  he  had  by  the  Spirit/  there 
are  included  directions,  for  the  priests  and  the  Le- 
vites, and  for  all  the  work  of  the  service  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord.  And  in  relation  to  these  in- 
structions, generally,  it  is  added,  'All  this,  the 
Lord  made  me  understand  in  writing  by  his  hand 
upon  me,  even  all  the  works  of  this  pattern.^  (1 
Chron.  xxviii.  13,  19.)  And  as  a  further  confir- 
mation of  the  conclusion  that  in  all  these  regula- 
tions connected  with  the  worship  of  God,  David 
was  directed  by  divine  wisdom,  it  is  stated  in  the 
history  of  the  reformation  effected  under  the  reiga 


56  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

of  Hezekiah^  that  this  pious  king  ^set  the  Levites 
in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  with  cymbals,  with  psal- 
teries and  with  harps,  according  to  the  command- 
ment of  David,  and  of  Gad,  the  king's  seer,  and 
Nathan,  the  prophet; /or  so  ivas  the  commandment 
of  the  Lord  hy  his  prophets.'   (2  Chron.  xxix.  25.) 

"From  this  historical  survey,  then,  it  appears, 
that  we  have  no  evidence^  that  previous  to  the 
age  of  David,  the  singing  of  God's  praise  formed 
a  part  of  the  stated  worship  of  God.  But,  on  par- 
ticular occasions,  when  the  dispensations  of  Divine 
Providence  towards  the  church  called  for  a  public 
expression  of  their  gratitude,  the  people  of  God 
poured  forth  their  thankful  acknowledgments  in 
songs  of  praise ;  and  at  such  times  some  one  who 
was  divinely  qualified  by  being  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost,  furnished  a  hymn  suited  to  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  church.  But  in  all  the  history  of 
the  church,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  there  is  no 
evidence  whatever  that  any  person  presumed  to 
undertake  such  a  service,  who  was  not  divinely 
called  to  it,  by  being  endowed  with  the  Spirit  of 
inspiration. 

"At  length,  after  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  had 
given  rest  unto  his  people,  and  they  were  in  quiet 
possession  of  the  land  promised  to  their  fathers, 
God  raised  up,  in  the  person  of  David,  a  prophet, 
by  whom  the  public  worship  of  God  was  reduced 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  57 

into  a  regular  system,  of  which  the  singing  of  praise 
formed  a  part.     And  as  the  celebration  of  God's 
praise  now  became  a  regular  part  of  divine  worship, 
it  became  indispensably  necessary  that  divine  songs 
should  be  provided  for  the  use  of  the  church.     Ac- 
cordingly, God,  who  selects  his  own  instruments 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  work,  called  David 
to  the  performance  of  this  most  important  service. 
By  the  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  he  was  en- 
dowed with  those  peculiar  gifts  which  were  neces- 
sary to  qualify  him  for  the  office  of  a  sweet  psalm- 
ist OF  Israel;  and  by  his  instrumentality,  the 
church  was   furnished   with   a   choice  variety  of 
'psalms,  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,'  adapted  to  the 
diversified  circumstances  of  the  private  believer  and 
of  the  church  of  God.     'In  these  songs,'  as  the 
celebrated  Edwards  very  justly  observes,  'David 
speaks  of  the  incarnation ,  life,  death,  resurrection, 
ascension   into  heaven,  satisfaction  and  interces- 
sion of  Christ;  his  prophetical,  kingly  and  priestly 
office ;  his  glorious  benefits  in  this  life  and  that 
which  is  to  come;  his  union  with  the  church;  the 
blessedness  of  the  church  in  him;  the  calling  of 
the  Gentiles;  the  future  glory  of  the  church,  near 
the  end  of  the  world;  and  the  coming  of  Christ  to 
the  final  judgment.'*      The  singing  of  praise  to 

*  History  of  Redemption. 


58  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

God,  from  this  time  forth,  formed  a  part  of  the  re- 
gular worship  of  God;  and  by  the  sweet  Psalmist 
of  Israel,  the  anointed  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  by 
whom  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake,  the  church  of 
God  was  furnished  with  songs  to  be  employed  ia 
divine  worship. 

"  The  divine  appointment  of  these  songs  to  be 
used  in  the  worship  of  God,  is  just  as  conclusively 
established,  as  that  David  was  raised  up  on  high, 
the  anointed  of  the  God  of  Jacob,  and  the  sweet 
Psalmist  of  Israel,  by  whom  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
spake.  And  accordingly,  as  a  matter  of  historical 
record,  we  know  that  these  songs  were  used  by  the 
church  with  divine  approbation.  At  the  dedica- 
tion of  the  temple,  it  appears  that  among  others, 
the  136th  Psalm  was  sung.  The  Levites  praised 
the  Lord,  saying,  'For  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy 
endureth  forever.^  And  in  testimony  of  the  Di- 
vine apj)robation,  'The  house  was  filled  with  a 
cloud,  even  the  house  of  the  Lord,  so  that  the 
priests  could  not  minister  by  reason  of  the  cloud; 
for  the  glory  of  the  Lord  had  filled  the  house  of 
God.'  (2  Chron.  xv.  13, 14.)  x\nd  in  the  history 
of  the  reformation  which  took  place  during  the 
reign  of  Hezekiah,  who  did  that  which  was  right 
in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  according  to  all  that  Da- 
vid his  father  had  done,  we  are  informed  that  'He- 
zekiah the  king,  and  the  princes,  commanded  the 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  59 

Levites  to  sing  praise  unto  the  Lord,  with  the 
words  of  David  and  Asaph  the  seer.'  (2  Chron. 
xxix.  30.)  David,  who  by  way  of  eminence  was 
styled  the  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel,  was  the  princi- 
pal individual  employed  in  furnishing  songs  of 
praise  for  the  use  of  the  church  -,  but  Asaph,  He- 
man,  Jeduthun  and  others,  performed  their  part 
in  the  same  interesting  service.  These  holy  men 
of  God,  who  were  endowed  with  the  requisite  gifts 
by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration,  furnished  for  the  use 
of  the  church,  that  rich  and  varied  collection  of 
divine  hymns  contained  in  the  book  of  Psalms. 

"By  whom  these  songs,  which  were  evidently 
composed  by  different  persons  and  on  a  great  va- 
riety of  occasions,  were  collected  into  a  book  and 
arranged  in  their  present  order,  we  are  not  able  to 
determine  with  absolute  certainty.  There  is,  how- 
ever, strong  probability  in  support  of  the  conclu- 
sion, that  this  service  was  performed  by  Ezra. 
This  distinguished  priest  and  scribe,  who  acted  a 
conspicuous  part  in  that  important  reformation 
which  was  effected  in  connexion  with  the  return 
of  the  Jews  from  Babylon,  according  to  Jewish 
tradition,  by  -divine  direction,  collected  and  ar- 
ranged the  different  portions  of  the  sacred  writings 
then  extant,  and  digested  them  in  that  systematic 
order  in  which  they  have  been  handed  down  to  us. 
But  let  this  matter  be  decided  as  it  may,  it  is  suffi- 


60  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

cient  for  ns  to  know,  that  whoever  may  have  col- 
lected these  songs  together,  it  was  done  with  di- 
vine approbation  ;  for  the  writers  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament refer  to  them  by  the  title,  'the  book  of 
Tsnlms.'  And  to  use  the  language  of  the  cele- 
brated writer  already  referred  to,  'it  is  manifest 
that  the  book  of  Psalms  was  given  of  God  for  this 
end;'  that  is,  that  it  might  be  used  by  the  church 
in  singing  Grod's  praise.  '  It  was  used  in  the  church 
of  Israel  by  God's  appointment.  This  is  manifest 
by  the  title  of  many  of  the  Psalms,  in  which  they 
are  inscribed  to  the  chief  musician ;  that  is,  to  the 
man  that  was  appointed  to  be  the  leader  of  divine 
songs  in  the  temple,  in  the  public  worship  of  Israel.' 

''In  this  conclusion,  then,  we  rest.  In  the  re- 
velation which  God  has  given  to  his  church,  we 
find  a  collection  of  divine  songs,  the  matter  of 
which,  the  titles  by  which  they  are  designated,  and 
the  use  which  was  originally  made  of  them  with 
divine  approbation,  manifest,  that  the  specific  end 
for  which  they  were  given,  was,  that  they  should 
be  employed  in  singing  God's  praise;  and  boing 
communicated  to  the  church  by  her  God  and  King, 
for  this  purpose,  they  should  be  used  in  this  part 
of  divine  worship.* 

II.    Such  appointment  can  he  claimed  for  no 

*  Pressly  on  Psalmody,  pp.  70-81. 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  61 

Other  songs  or  manual  of  praise.  "There  is  nc 
book  of  Psalms  in  the  New  Testament.  The  duty 
of  singing  God's  praise  is  very  distinctly  recognised 
in  the  New  Testament.  ^By  him/  says  the  Apos- 
tle to  the  Hebrews,  'let  us  offer  the  sacrifice  of 
praise  to  God  continually,  that  is,  the  fruit  of  our 
lips,  giving  thanks  to  his  name.'  (Heb.  xiii.  15.} 
And  again:  '  Is  any  merry?  Let  him  sing  psalms.' 
(James  v.  13.)  At  the  close  of  the  last  passover, 
our  Lord  and  his  disciples  sung  a  hy«nn.  And 
in  the  gloomy  precincts  of  a  dungeon,  Paul  and 
Silas,  at  the  hour  of  midnight,  'prayed  and  sang 
praises  unto  God.'  'But,  while  we  are  exhorted 
to  offer  unto  God  the  sacrifice  of  praise,  and  have 
the  example  of  our  Lord  and  of  his  Apostles  to 
excite  us  to  engage  in  this  delightful  exercise,  we 
find  no  collection  of  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  songs, 
in  the  New  Testament.  In  what  sense  is  it  rea- 
sonable to  suppose,  that  the  primitive  Christians 
would  understand  the  apostolic  direction,  'Is  any 
merry?  Let  him  sing  psalms.'  To  assist  the 
plain  Christian  in  determining  what  is  the  proper 
answer  to  this  inquiry,  let  me  propose  another  ques- 
tion. When  our  Lord  said  to  his  hearers,  'Search 
the  Scriptures ;'  in  what  sense  is  it  to  be  supposed, 
that  this  direction  would  be  understood?  No  one 
will  pretend  that  our  Lord  designed  that  his  hearers 
should  understand  him  as  instructing  them  to  pre- 
6 


62  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

pare  writings,  the  matter  of  wliicli  was  to  be  taken 
from  the  Bible,  wliicb  they  might  consult  for  their 
improvement,  instead  of  searching  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures for  their  edification.,  Equally  unreasonable 
would  it  be  to  suppose,  that  the  apostolic  direction, 
with  regard  to  singing  psalms,  could  be  understood 
by  the  primitive  Christians,  as  authorizing  them  to 
prepare  psalms  to  be  used  in  the  worship  of  God, 
instead  of  those  which  he  himself  had  provided  in 
his  word.  As  the  command  of  Christ,  'Search  the 
Scriptures,'  supposes  that  there  were  in  existence 
sacred  writings,  with  which  those  to  whom  the 
command  was  addressed,  were  acquainted,  so  the 
apostolic  direction,  ^sing  psalms,'  supposes  that 
there  were  psalms  in  existence,  which  those  to 
whom  the  direction  was  given,  were  to  use.  Those 
Christians  to  whom  the  words  of  the  Apostle  James 
were  originally  addressed,  knew  full  well,  that 
among  the  sacred  writings  which  God  had  given 
to  his  church,  there  was  a  'book  of  Psalms.'  And 
\  the  exhortation  to  sing  psalms  would  naturally  be 
I  understood  by  them  as  a  direction  to  make  use  of 
the  psalms  which  the  Spirit  of  infinite  wisdom  had 
already  provided.  And  in  what  sense  would  the 
Hebrew  Christians  understand  the  words  of  the 
Apostle,  when  he  exhorted  them  to  ofi'er  continu- 
ally the  sacrifice  of  praise  to  God  ?  These  Hebrews 
knew  full  well,  how  important  it  was  that  in  all 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  63 

their  offerings,  those  things  only  should  bo  pre- 
sented on  the  altar  which  God  himself  had  ap- 
pointed. They  knew,  moreover,  that  God  him- 
self had  prepared  and  given  to  his  church,  a  divine 
collection  of  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  songs,  to  be 
employed  in  singing  his  praise.  And  knowing 
these  things,  can  it  be  supposed,  that  they  would 
feel  at  liberty  to  lay  aside  those  songs  which  God 
had  -prepared,  and  undertake  to  provide  others 
more  suitable  for  themselves?  Can  we  for  a  mo- 
ment entertain  the  thought,  that  they  could  un- 
derstand the  Apostle  as  authorizing  them  to  dis- 
regard the  lamb  which  God  had  provided  as  an 
offering  for  himself,  and  to  come  before  the  Lord 
with  the  blind,  the  halt,  and  the  lame?  Had  they 
presumed  to  do  so,  would  they  not  have  cause  to 
apprehend  the  execution  of  the  sentence,  ^Cursed 
be  the  deceiver,  which  hath  in  his  flock  a  male, 
and  voweth  and  sacrificeth  to  the  Lord  a  corrupt 
thing?'  (Malachi  i.  14.) 

"And  in  addition  to  this  consideration,  it  de- 
serves to  be  particularly  noticed,  that  while  there 
is  no  book  of  Psalms  in  the  New  Testament,  there 
is  no  intimation  whatever  that  one  was  needed; 
nor  is  there  either  a  direction  given  to  any  man  to 
furnish  such  a  hook,  nor  a  single  promise  of  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  assist  any  man  in 
preparing  one.     Under  the  former  dispensation, 


64  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

God  raised  up  a  ^  sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel/  whom 
he  endowed  with  the  gifts  of  the  Holj  Spirit,  and 
eminently  qualified  for  the  important  service.  And 
by  the  instrumentality  of  a  man,  whom  God  called 
to  the  work  and  fitted  for  it,  a  collection  of  sacred 
songs,  has  been  communicated  to  the  church,  which 
Christians  all  over  the  world,  in  every  age,  have 
found  from  comfortable  experience,  to  be  admira- 
bly adapted  to  the  end  for  which  it  was  given. 
And  when  our  glorious  Lord,  with  whom  is  the 
residue  of  the  Spirit,  arose  from  the  dead  and  as- 
cended up  far  above  all  heavens  that  he  might  fill 
all  things;  and  gave  some  evangelists,  and  some 
pastors  and  teachers;  for  the  perfecting  of  the 
saints,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ;  if  it 
had  been  necessary  for  the  edification  of  his  church, 
is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  among  other 
gifts,  he  would  have  conferred  the  Spirit  of  Psalmody? 
But  among  the  various  services  to  which  difierent 
individuals  were  called  by  the  Head  of  the  Church, 
and  for  which  he  qualified  them,  by  imparting  to 
them  the  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  preparation 
of  a  system  of  psalmody,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ,  is  never  mentioned.  Though  with 
him  is  the  residue  of  the  Spirit,  it  was  not  his 
pleasure  to  raise  up  and  anoint  a  ^ sweet  Psalmist 
of  Israel,"  under  the  New  Testament  dispensation. 
And  why  was  no  one  called   to  this  important 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  65 

office?  The  only  rational  answer  which  can  be 
given,  is,  that  He  in  whom  are  hid  all  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  did  not  consider  it  ne- 
cessary. However  liberal  he  may  be  in  the  distri- 
bution of  his  gifts,  he  bestows  none  that  are  un- 
necessary. And,  having  already  made  provision 
for  the  edification  of  his  church,  by  furnishing  her 
with  a  book  of  Psalms,  he  did  not  call  any  of  those, 
whom  after  his  ascension,  he  endowed  with  the 
gifts  of  the  Spirit,  to  provide  another.  Since,  then, 
we  are  in  the  New  Testament  commanded  to  sing 
psalms,  but  never  directed  to  mahe  psalmsj  we 
come  to  the  conclusion,  that  we  have  the  sanction 
of  the  King  of  Zion,  authorizing  the  use  of  the 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  songs,  which  had  already 
been  furnished,  for  the  edifying  of  the  body  of 
Christ. 

"It  may,  however,  be  said,  that  these  considera- 
tions, at  most,  prove  nothing  more  than  that  we 
should  employ  the  songs  of  Scripture  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God;  but  will  not  establish  the  position, 
that  the  church  should  be  confined  to  the  use  of 
those  songs  which  are  contained  in  the  book  of 
Psalms.     As  to  this  I  remark, 

"That  from  the  fact  that  God  has  given  his 
church  a  book  of  Psalms,  it  would  appear  to  be  the 
divine  will  that  this  should  be  used  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  all  others.     We  have  already  had  occasion 
6* 


66  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

to  remark,  that  in  ancient  days,  on  various  occa- 
sions, individuals,  under  the  influence  of  the  Spirit 
of  inspiration,  gave  expression  to  the  gratitude  of 
their  hearts,  in  a  song  of  praise.     Such  songs  of 
praise  are  found  in  various  parts  of  the   Bible. 
But,  in  process  of  time,  a  great  variety  of  songs, 
composed  by  different  men  on  various  occasions, 
were  collected  together  into  one  book,  which  not 
only  has  a  place  in  the  volume  of  inspiration,  but 
to  which  God  himself  has  given  a  peculiar  title, 
^The  book  of  Psalms,'  or  songs  of  praise.     The 
peculiar  title  of  the  book  designates   the  end  for 
which  it  was  specially  intended.     And  it  is  a  fact 
which  deserves  particular  notice,  that  some  of  the 
songs  contained  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  are  found 
likewise  in  other  parts  of  the  Bible.  The  eighteenth 
psalm  is  found  in  the  second  book  of  Samuel,  and 
the  ninety-sixth,  and  the  parts  of  some  other  psalms, 
are  found  in  the  second  book  of  Chronicles.     Other 
songs,  such  as  the  song  of  Moses  at  the  Red  sea, 
the  song  of  Deborah  and  Barak  and  others,  found 
in  different  parts  of  the  Bible,  are  not  transferred 
to  the  book  of  Psalms.     And  the  question  naturally 
arises.  Why  is  this  distinction  made?     Why  are 
some  of  those  songs,  which  are  found  in  other  parts 
of  the  Bible,  introduced  likewise  into  the  book  of 
Psalms,  while  others  have  no  place  in  that  collec- 
tion ?     I  can  conceive  of  do  answer  so  satisfactory 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  67 

as  this;  that  the  book  of  Psahns  being  designed  for 
permanent  use  in  the  worship  of  God,  those  songs 
have  a  place  in  this  book,  which,  in  the  estimation 
of  Infinite  Wisdom,  were  best  adapted  to  the  edifi- 
cation of  the  church  in  all  ages, 

"It  appears  then,  that  in  the  Old  Testament,  the 
duty  of  praising  God  by  singing  psalms  or  songs, 
is  distinctly  recognised:  on  various  occasions,  men 
who  were  moved  by  the   Holy  Ghost,  furnished 
songs  of  praise  appropriate  to  the  circumstances  of 
the  church  of  God.     Among  those  whom  God  was 
pleased  to  employ  in  this  service,  David,  the  royal 
prophet,  stands  pre-eminently  distinguished  as  the 
sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel.     In  process  of  time,  a 
choice  and  varied  collection  of  sacred  songs,  com- 
posed by  different  inspired  men,  on  a  variety  of  oc- 
casions, was  given  to  the  church  by  the  God  of 
Israel;  to  which  collection  of  divine  songs,  he  him- 
self has  appended  the  title,  the  book  of  psalms. 
These  songs  are  not  the  effusions  of  pious,  well- 
meaning,  but  fallible  men;   they  are  the  produc- 
tions of  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  spake  by  the  mouth 
of  his  servants,  the  prophets.      In  these  sacred 
hymns,  we  have  not  an  exhibition  of  human  views 
of  divine  truth,  which  may  be  correct  or  may  be 
erroneous;  but  we  have  the  word  of  God  itself,  which 
is  pure  as  silver  tried  in  a  furnace  of  earth,  purified 
seven  times.     The  praises  of  God  are  exhibited  in 


68  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

these  divine  songs,  not  in  words  wliicli  man's  wis- 
dom teacheth,  but  wliich  the  Holy  Ghost  teaclieth. 
That  Grod  will  accept  the  ascriptions  of  praise  which 
are  given  to  him  in  these  psalms,  we  are  absolutely 
certain;  because  in  them  his  Spirit  has  taught  us 
to  ascribe  to  him  the  glory  which  is  due  unto  his 
name. 

"We  pass  on  to  the  New  Testament,  and  we 
find  our  Lord  and  his  Apostles  not  only  recognising 
the  duty,  but  setting  an  example  of  praising  God. 
What  particular  psalms  and  hymns  they  used,  we 
are  not  expressly  told;  but  every  part  of  the  New 
Testament  furnishes  evidence  of  their  familiarity 
with  the  book  of  Psalms.  And  that  he  in  whom 
dwelt  all  the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily,  and 
his  Apostles  who  were  endued  with  power  from  on 
high,  did  not  use  the  effusions  of  uninspired  men 
in  the  worship  of  God,  is  certain.  In  an  interview 
with  the  Apostles,  after  his  resurrection,  our  Lord 
addressed  them  in  the  following  words:  ^ These  are 
the  words  that  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet 
with  you,  that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled,  which 
were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  pro- 
phets, and  in  the  psalms,  concerning  me.'  From 
this  and  other  declarations  of  like  character  in  the 
New  Testament,  we  have  infallible  evidence,  that 
Jesus  Christ  himself  is  the  great  subject  of  the 
book  of  Psalms.     This  the  Apostles  understood, 


DIVINELY  APPOINTED.  69 

when  their  divine  Master  opened  their  understand- 
injis,  that  they  might  understand  the  scriptures; 
and  the  same  thing  will  be  understood  by  all  who 
are  taught  of  the  Lord.  And  when  we  consider 
how  frequently  the  Apostles  introduce  the  psalms 
in  their  discourses  and  epistles,  we  cannot  doubt 
that  they  regarded  the  matter  of  these  sacred  songs 
as  very  suitable  to  be  employed  in  the  worship  of 
God.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  that  neither 
our  Lord  nor  his  Apostles  have  furnished  any 
psalms  or  songs  in  the  New  Testament,  for  the  use 
of  the  church,  much  less  have  they  provided  a 
book  of  Psalms.  And  further,  there  is  no  appoint- 
ment given  to  any  man  to  furnish  psalms  to  be 
employed  in  the  worship  of  God,  nor  is  there  a 
promise  of  the  Spirit  of  Psalmody,  to  assist  any 
one  in  performing  this  important  service."* 

III.  These  considerations  and  arguments  require 
no  little  force  from  the  fact,  generally  acknow- 
ledged, that  the  church  of  Christ  is  one  and  the 
same  under  both  Testaments — the  Old  and  the 
New.  She  is  the  ''good  olive  tree/'  (Eom.  xi.) 
from  which  the  Jews  were  separated  as  decayed 
and  barren  branches,  and  into  which  the  Gentiles 
have  been  "grafted."  Some  of  the  outward  gar- 
niture of  this  one  Church,  was,  it  is  true,  removed 

*  Pressly  on  Psalmody,  pp.  83-91. 


70  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

at  the  advent,  death,  and  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ.  The  mode  of  dispensing  the  Gospel,  was, 
in  a  measure,  changed.     Types,  ceremonies,  rites 

»  — all  of  which  had  reference  to  the  Messiah  as  their 
anti-type  and  substance, — passed  away,  having  an- 
swered the  end  of  their  institution;  but  the  truth 
remains — the  law  remains.  We  still  worship  the 
same  Jehovah,  through  the  same  Mediator,  by  the 
same  Spirit.  The  ten  commandments  are  still  the 
summary  rule  of  human  duty  and  obligation.  The 
history  of  the  Old  Testament  is  now,  as  ever,  the 
history  of  God's  providential  dealings  with  men,  with 
nations,  and  with  the  Church.  The  Book  of  Pro- 
verbs is  yet  the  book  of  inspired  maxims  of  wis- 
dom, prudence  and  jDurity.  The  Prophecies  are 
the  peculiar  inheritance  of  the  New  Testament  dis- 
pensation. All  those  portions  of  the  Word  of  God 
which  "came  of  old  time"  are  given  to  the  church 
in  all  ages,  for  the  very  same  ends  of  instruction,  ad- 
monition and  consolation,  which  they  were  intended 

^to  subserve  when  first  revealed  and  set  in  order  by 
the  instrumentality  of  men  of  God,  who  "spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost.^'  "For  what- 
soever things  were  written  aforetime,  were  written 
for  our  learning,  that  we  through  patience  and 
comfort  of  the  Scriptures  might  have  hope."  (Rom. 
XV.  4.)  And  again,  "All  scripture  is  given  by  in- 
spiration of  God,  and  is  profitable  for  doctrine,  for 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  71 

reproof,  for  correction,  for  instruction  in  righteous- 
ness: that  the  man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  thoroughly 
furnished  unto  all  good  works."  (2  Tim.  iii.  16,  17.) 
If  then  other  Scriptures  are  given  for  our  use 
and  profit,  each  part  according  to  its  own  proper 
nature  and  end,  why  not  the  Book  of  Psalms,  also, 
for  all  time,  as  a  Book  of  Psalms,  to  be  sung  as  ap- 
pointed of  Grod  for  this  vert/  purpose,  just  as  truly 
as  the  Decalogue  was  given  to  be  the  summary  of 
human  duty  to  the  end  of  the  world?  Once  given 
to  the  church  to  be  used  in  celebrating  God's 
praise,  where  is  the  act  setting  it  aside,  any  more 
than  the  Decalogue?  Where  the  warrant  to  in- 
troduce other  Psalms  or  hymns  to  supersede  this 
inspired  and  appointed  manual?  And,  finally, 
these  inquiries  are  the  more  pertinent  and  sugges- 
tive, in  view  of  the  fact  that  this  Book  contains, 
as  we  have  already  proved,  all  that  the  Church  re- 
quires for  her  exercises  of  sacred  pi'aise  in  song. 


CHAPTER  III. 

IS  THERE  ANY  WARRANT  FOR  MAKING  OR  USING 
IN  THE  W^ORSHIP  OF  GOD,  PSALMS  OR  HYMNS, 
OTHER  THAN  THOSE  ALREADY  PROVIDED  BY 
GOD  FOR  HIS  CHURCH? 

We  here  consider, — 

I.  The  arguments  employed  in  defence  of  the 
use  of  uninspired  hymns.     And, 


72  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

I.  It  is  affirmed  that  these  have  a  Scripture 
sanction. 

(1.)  The  "sayings''  of  Mary  (Luke  i.  46-55,) 
and  the  prophecy  of  Zecharias  (Luke  i.  68-79,) 
are  regarded  as  "precedents"  which  imply  such  a 
sanction.  This,  they  certainly  are  not.  For  of 
Mary,  it  is  merely  stated,  that  she  ^^said."  Her 
utterances  are  not  styled  a  song ;  nor  is  there  any 
evidence  that  either  she  herself,  or  any  other,  then 
sang  them.  They  are  no  more  than  a  hearty  out- 
hurst  of  thanksgiving — and  no  doubt  inspired. 
As  to  Zecharias,  it  is  said,  he  was  "  filled  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  prophesied/'  We  are  utterly  un- 
able to  see  how  this  can  be  construed  into  a  war- 
rant for  the  making  of  songs  for  the  church  by  un- 
inspired men,  who  do  not  even  profess  to  "pro- 
phesy!" Moreover,  all  this  was  under  the  Old 
Testament  economy,  and  not  under  the  New. 

(2.)  Reference  is  made  to  the  fact  that  our  Sa- 
viour and  his  disciples  "sang  an  hymn,  and  went 
out  into  the  mount  of  Olives,"  (Matt,  xxvi,  30.) 
Were  it  admitted,  or  proved,  that  this  "hymn"  was 
made  for  the  occasion  by  our  Saviour,  or  by  one  of 
the  apostles,  what  authority  would  thus  be  fur- 
nished for  the  making  of  hymns  by  mere  men,  and 
these  uninspired?  Certainly,  none  at  all.  But 
this  "hymn,"  it  is  now  almost  universally  acknow- 
ledged, was  the  "  Great  Hallel,"  consisting  of  a  num- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  73 

ber  of  consecutive  Psalms,  which  we  now  nnd  in 
their  order,  in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  always  sung 
at  the  close  of  the  paschal  feast.  Dr.  Clarke,  him- 
self an  advocate  for  the  use  of  uninspired  hymns, 
says,  "As  to  the  hijmn  itself,  we  know  from  the  uni- 
versal consent  of  Jewish  antiquity,  that  it  was  com- 
posed of  Psalms  113,  114,  115, 116, 117  and  11°, 
termed  by  the  Jews  hallel,  from  hallelu-jah, 
the  first  word  in  Psalm  lloth.  These  six  psalms 
were  always  sung  at  every  paschal  solemnity.  They 
sung  this  great  hallel  on  account  of  the  five  great 
benefits  referred  to  in  it;  namely,  1.  The  exodus 
from  Egypt.  2.  The  miraculous  division  of  the 
Red  sea.  3.  The  promulgation  of  the  law.  4. 
The  resurrection  of  the  dead.  5.  The  passion  of 
the  Messiah."* 

(3.)  A  warrant  for  the  use  of  uninspired  com- 
positions is  sought  in  Eph.  v.  19,  and  Col.  iii.  16, 
— and  on  these  the  advocates  of  ^' hymns"  lay  the 
greatest  stress.  That  these  passages  will  not  bear 
the  interpretation  put  upon  them  as  enjoining,  or 
favouring  the  use  of  uninspired  songs,  is  thus  sa- 
tisfactorily shown  by  Dr.  Cooper. 

"It  is  admitted  by  those  who  urge  these  pas- 
sages as  authorizing  the  use  of  other  songs,  than 

*  For  further  allusions  to  this  subject,  see  quotation 
from  Dr.  Cooper  on  Eph.  v.  19.  &c. 

7 


74  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

those  contained  in  the  Word  of  God,  that  the 
'■  Psalms'  which  we  are  here  enjoined  to  sing  are  the 
Psalms  of  inspiration.  We  have  the  highest  au- 
thority for  regarding  it  as  an  admitted  fact  that 
the  psalms  here  referred  to  are  the  psalms  of  Da- 
vid. We  have  the  authority  of  the  editors  of  the 
Princeton  Repertory,  a  work  published  under  the 
auspices  and  sustained  by  the  patronage  of  the  Old 
School  Presbyterian  Church,  and  edited  by  men  of 
r^uperior  learning  and  talent.  In  the  vol.  for  1829, 
the  editors  say,  in  an  article  entitled,  'The  sacred 
^poetry  of  the  early  Christians,'  'We  can  hardly 
conceive  it  possible  that  the  psalms  of  David  could 
have  been  so  generally  adopted  in  the  churches, 
and  so  highly  esteemed  by  the  best  of  the  fathers, 
unless  they  had  been  introduced  and  sanctioned  by 
the  Apostles  and  inspired  teachers.'  Again,  they 
say,  'It  seems  more  correspondent  to  scripture 
usage  to  consider  the  term  psalms  here  as  mean- 
ing the  book  of  psalms,  as  used  in  Luke  xxiv.  44, 
and  equivalent  to  ^i^Xoq  i^aA^M.&'y,  Luke  xx.  42, 
Acts  i.  20,  to  which  the  New  Testament  writers  so 
frequently  refer  for  prophecies,  proofs  and  illustra- 
tions of  their  facts  and  doctrines.'  In  another 
part  of  the  same  article,  the  reader  will  find  the 
following  remark,  which  will,  no  doubt,  commend 
itself  to  his  good  sense:  'As  the  first  Christians 
were  drawn  from  the  synagogue,  they  naturally 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  75 

brought  with  them  those  songs  of  Zion  which  were 
associated  with  their  earliest  recollections  and  best 
feelings,  and  appropriated  them  to  the  services  of 
the  New  Dispensation/  Olshausen,  in  his  Com- 
mentary on  Eph.  V.  19,  says,  '-^a^ixoi  (psalms)  are 
probably  here  the  psalms  of  the  Old  Testament, 
which  passed  from  the  synagogue  into  the  church 
service/  Bengel  also  calls  them  the  psalms  of 
David.  In  addition  to  this  we  may  adduce  the 
fact  that  the  book  of  Dr.  Watts  is  professedly 
made  upon  an  admission  that  the  psalms  here 
mentioned  by  the  Apostle  are  somehow  or  other 
the  psalms  of  David,  for  we  have  in  this  collec- 
tion one  hundred  and  fifty  psalms  which  were 
doubtless  made  on  this  presumption.  We  then, 
surely,  have  the  very  best  reasons  for  coming  to 
the  conclusion  that  all  parties  are  agreed  that  the 
Apostle  here  refers  to  the  psalms  of  David.  In- 
deed the  denial  of  this  would  be  attended  with  so 
many  difficulties  that  we  do  not  apprehend,  that 
the  friends  of  human  compositions  will  be  disposed 
to  take  any  other  position.  We  wish  the  reader, 
in  the  subsequent  discussion,  to  bear  this  in  mind. 
''The  true  and  only  question  then  before  us,  is. 
Have  we  any  reason  for  supposing  that  the  '  hymns' 
and  'spiritual  songs'  here  mentioned,  are  any 
thing  different  from  the  'psalms?'  It  will  not  do  to 
assume   a   difference.     That    difference    must   be 


76  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

proved  in  order  to  justify  a  resort  to  these  passages 
as  authorizing  the  use  of  any  thing  else  than  the 
Book  of  Psalms.  The  reader  will  notice  here,  that 
the  burden  of  proof  rests  on  those  who  take  the 
position,  that  the  hymns  and  spiritual  songs  here 
mentioned  are  such  as  are  not  contained  in  the 
word  of  God.  Here  is  the  very  question  at  issue 
between  us  and  our  brethren.  It  is  apprehended 
that  multitudes  interpret  these  passages  under  the 
force  of  their  own  practice  and  the  preconceived 
views  upon  which  that  practice  is  based.  For  in- 
stance, they  are  using,  and  have  been  from  their 
earliest  recollections,  using  a  book  containing  re- 
ligious devotional  poems  under  the  distinct  head 
of  'Psalms,'  bearing  in  point  of  number  an  exact 
correspondence  with  the  divine  collection,  and  also 
in  point  of  sentiment  some  resemblance  to  it.  In 
addition  to  these,  there  is  also  a  large  number  that 
are  published  under  the  head  of  'Hymns.'  As 
these  are  always  called  hymns  and  the  others  psalms, 
the  idea  associated  with  the  former  word  as  it  oc- 
curs in  these  passages,  is,  that  they  are  something 
like  what  is  found  in  their  book.  Very  little  re- 
flection, however,  must  suffice  to  show  any  person, 
that  as  these  passages  were  written  by  the  Apostle 
many  centuries  before  the  existence  of  any  hymn- 
book  now  in  use,  so  we  must  go  to  some  other 
source  if  we  would  ascertain  the  idea  attached  to 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  77 

this  word  by  the  Apostle  when  directing  us  to  sing 
not  only  psalms  but  hymns.  The  question  for 
you,  reader,  to  answer,  is  just  this.  How  do  you 
know,  and  what  reason  have  you  to  give,  that  the 
hymns  mentioned  hy  the  Apostle  are  not  those  which 
are  contained  in  the  word  of  God,  instead  of  this 
hymn-book  of  yours  which  was  made,  ten,  twenty, 
or  fifty  years  ago?  Now,  if  you  can  present  nothing 
more  than  the  simple  fact  that  in  your  book  they 
are  called  hymns,  you  must  at  once  see  that  you 
have  nothing  that  in  the  least  affects  the  ques- 
tion of  divine  authority. 

^'Perhaps  you  will  be  ready  to  say,  are  the 
^psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs'  men- 
tioned by  the  Apostle,  only  different  names  for  the 
same  things?  Suppose  we  say,  Yes?  How  will 
you  prove  that  they  are  not  ?  How  will  you  prove 
that  any  one  of  the  inspired  collection  is  not  a 
hymn,  or  a  spiritual  song  ?  If  you  deny  it,  be  so 
good  as  to  give  a  good  reason  for  it.  The  only  rea- 
son that  I  can  conceive  of  as  capable  of  being  given 
by  you,  is  that  they  are  called  by  different  names. 
Well,  be  so  good  as  to  tell  us  the  difference  between 
statutes,  and  judgments,  and  commandments  in 
the  following  passage,  1  Kings  vi.  12,  'If  thou 
wilt  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  execute  my  judg- 
ments, and  keep  all  my  commandments,  to  walk 
ia  them;  then  will  I  perform  my  word  with  thee/ 
7* 


To  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

Here  are  different  names,  and  do  they  not  relate 
to  the  same  things?     Are  not  God's  statutes  his 
judgments,  and  are  they  not  both  his  command- 
ments?    But  suppose   we  say  No — they   do   not 
mean  the  same  thing:   psalms  are  not  just  the 
same  as  hymns,  and  hymns  are  not  just  the  same 
as  spiritual  songs.     What  then  ?     Why  it  appears 
that  there  is  a  difference.     But  the  question  still 
recurs,  what  is  that  difference?     Is  it  the  differ- 
ence which  exists  between  what  is  inspired,  and 
what  is  not  inspired?     Do  you  not  plainly  see  that 
unless  you  prove  such  a  difference  as  this,  you  have 
not  touched  the  question  at  issue  between  us?  We 
may  imagine  a  thousand  differences,  but  they  have 
no  relevancy  to  the  point  before  us;  unless  they  go 
to  show  that  these  names  are  designed  to  express 
what  is  inspired  and  what  is  not  inspired.     Now, 
reader,  this  you  never  can  do.     You  may  try  it 
as  long  as  you  please;  but  you  will  fail  in  every 
effort.     This  you  will  see  to  be  the  case  before  we 
are  through  with  the  examination  of  this  passage. 
"Here  we  might  with  the  greatest  confidence 
iCavc  the  whole  question;  God  has  given  to  his 
church  a  book  of  praise,  and  a  due  regard  for  him 
as  its  author,  requires  its  use  until  those  who  offer 
us  some  other  book,  on  the  ground  that  he  requires 
us  to  sing  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  show  us  that 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs  are  not  to  be  found  in 
this  book. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  79 

''  But  have  the  friends  of  an  inspired  psalmody 
nothing  to  support  their  position,  that  the  Apos- 
tle, by  these  three  terms,  refers  to  the  same  thing, 
or  at  least  that  he  does  not,  by  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs,  mean  those  which  are  not  inspired?  In 
order  that  the  reader  may  judge  of  this,  we  shall 
submit  to  his  candid  attention  the  following  con- 
siderations : 

(1.)  "The  difference  contended  for  by  the  ad- 
vocates of  human  psalmody  is  not  practically  ob- 
served by  themselves.  The  Old  School  Presby- 
terian Church  has  taken  metrical  translations  of 
the  twenty-third  and  hundredth  psalms,  and  placed 
them  among  their  ''Hymns/'  Let  the  reader 
compare  these  psalms  with  the  prose  transla- 
tion, and  we  are  satisfied  that  he  will  at  once  ac- 
knowledge that  if  there  can  be  such  a  thing  as  a 
metrical  translation  of  the  psalms,  they  may  with 
the  greatest  propriety  be  so  called.  Surely  if  there 
be  one  among  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  Dr. 
Watts'  that  may  be  called  a  psalm,  these  two  de- 
serve the  name  of  'psalms.'  Let  me  ask,  then. 
Are  these  two  metrical  translations  of  the  psalms 
of  David,  hymns?  So  have  the  General  Assembly 
declared.  Why  may  not  the  rest  be  called  by  the 
same  name? 

(2.)  "If  there  be  a  distinction  between  the 
psalms  and  hymns,  we  are  bound  by  the  same  mode 


80  THE  TRUE  PSALMODT. 

of  interpretation  to  suppose  a  distinction  between 
the  hymns  and  spiritual  songs.  But  can  the  read- 
er tell  us  what  this  distinction  is  ?  Let  a  hymn 
or  spiritual  song  be  read  from  their  collection,  and 
who  can  tell  to  which  class  it  belongs,  I  may 
here  refer  to  the  practice  of  those  who  use  hymns 
of  human  composition,  to  show  that  no  such  dis- 
tinction is  recognised.  I  have  now  before  me  the 
Hymn  Book  now  in  use  in  the  Old  School  Presby- 
terian Church.  In  looking  over  it,  I  find  a  collec- 
tion called  ^Psalms/  consisting  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty.  I  find  also  a  collection  called  'Plymns/  con- 
sisting of  six  hundred  and  eighty.  But  where  is 
the  collection  called  'Spiritual  Songs?'  They  are 
not  in  the  book.  What  plainer  proof  could  we 
have  that  no  such  a  distinction  as  the  one  con- 
tended for  is  recognised  even  by  those  churches 
that  make  use  of  human  compositions  in  the  wor- 
ship of  God?  Will  brethren  expect  us  to  recog- 
nise a  distinction  which  they  themselves  practically 
ignore?  Perhaps,  it  may  be  said  that  the  col- 
lection of  ^Doxologies'  in  this  book  are  intended 
as  '  Spiritual  Songs.'  If  so,  they  are  not  so  de- 
signated. We  have  what  is  called  'The  Christian 
Doxology'  immediately  after  the  'Psalms,'  and 
then  we  have  what  are  called  'Doxologies'  imme- 
diately after  the  'Hymns.'  To  which  of  these  do 
they  belong?     But  this  is  not  all,  to  show  how  ut- 


HIMNS  UNWARRANTED.  81 

terly  this  distinction  is  ignored.  The  reader  will 
find  among  these  hymns  some  that  are  denominated 
songs.  What  could  more  conclusively  show  the 
utter  groundlessness  of  the  distinction  which  the 
advocates  of  human  composition  contend  for,  and 
which  is  made  the  basis  of  their  interpretation  of 
this  passage? 

(3.)  "There  are  strong  presumptions  against  re- 
cognising such  a  distinction  as  the  one  contended 
for.  Either  these  hymns  or  spiritual  songs  were 
written  by  divine  inspiration,  or  they  were  not. 
If  they  were  thus  written,  then  we  have  in  this 
command  a  direction  to  sing  an  inspired  psalmody, 
the  very  thing  for  which  we  contend.  But 
what  is  the  conclusion  to  which  this  admission 
brings  us,  on  the  supposition  that  these  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs  are  not  found  in  the  Scriptures? 
The  necessary  conclusion  is,  that  a  part  of  the  in- 
spired writings  has  been  lost,  a  conclusion  to 
which  we  are  sure  the  reader  would  be  unwilling 
to  come.  The  pious  feelings  of  his  heart  would  re- 
volt against  it.  He  will  no  doubt  be  ready  to  say 
with  the  editors  of  the  Repertory,  that  'It  is  not 
probable  that  any  were  written  under  the  influence 
of  inspiration,  or  they  would  have  been  preserved 
with  other  inspired  writings.'  Suppose,  however, 
we  take  the  other  position,  and  say,  with  these 
editors,  'That  men  of  education,  genius  and  piety. 


82  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

employed  their  talents  in  the  composition  of  hymns 
and  spiritual  odes,  which,  being  approved  by  the 
Apostle,  were  introduced  into  the  services  of  the 
church/  Then — leaving  altogether  out  of  view  the 
important  fact  that  we  have  not  now  the  Apostles 
to  whose  judgment  we  can  submit  our  uninspired 
hymns,  and  that  they  do  not  profess  to  have  the 
wijyrimafui'  of  these  holy  men — four  difficulties 
present  themselves  to  the  mind:  (a.)  Why  is  it 
that  we  have  not,  in  any  of  the  Scriptures,  the 
least  allusion  to  the  mahing  of  hymns  and  spiritual 
odes  by  these  men  'of  education,  genius  and  piety?' 
On  this  subject  there  reigns  throughout  the  Scrip- 
tures the  stillness  of  the  grave.  Is  not  this  strange, 
especially  when  we  consider  the  importance  of 
praise  as  a  part  of  Divine  worship,  and  the  agita- 
tion which  'the  introduction  of  hymns  into  the 
services  of  the  church,'  often  produces  at  the  pre- 
sent time?  (&.)  Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that 
there  would  be  found  in  the  very  infancy  of  the 
New  Testament  church  a  sufficient  number  of  such 
men  qualified  to  supply  the  church  with  these 
hymns  and  spiritual  odes?  Take  these  Ephesians, 
for  instance.  We  know  what  they  were  before 
converted  to  Christianity.  They  were  sunk  in  all 
the  ignorance  and  pollution  of  idolatry,  having 
been  from  their  childhood  worshippers  of  'the  great 
goddess  Diana.'     Without  at  all  presuming  to  call 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  83 

in  question  the  existence  among  them  of  men  of 
education,  genius  and  piety,  we  think  it  is  by  no 
means  an  unreasonable  supposition,  that  it  would 
not  have  been  safe  to  commit  to  men  just  couYcrtcd 
from  their  idolatrous  worship,  and  consequently  but 
partially  enlightened  and  established  in  the  truth, 
the  making  'of  hymns  and  spiritual  songs,'  in  which 
to  celebrate  the  praises  of  Jehovah.  To  our  mind 
it  would  seem  to  be  a  dangerous  experiment,  (c.) 
The  making  of  hymns  by  uninspired  men,  would, 
in  all  probability,  produce  difficulties  between  the 
Hebrew  and  Gentile  Christians.  In  the  Ian2;ua2;e 
of  the  editors  of  the  Repertory,  'The  Hebrew 
Christians  had  probably  been  accustomed  from 
childhood  to  consider  inspired  psalms  alone  admis- 
sible in  the  worship  of  the  sanctuary,  and  cherished 
a  holy  and  even  superstitious  dread  of  every  thing 
like  innovation  or  departure  from  the  good  old  cus- 
toms of  their  fathers.'  Is  it  probable  that  under 
these  circumstances  the  apostle  would  direct  to  the 
.use  of  uninspired  hymns,  when  they  had  'those 
songs  of  Zion  which  were  associated  with  all  their 
earliest  recollections  and  best  feelings?'  And  if 
the  direction  in  regard  to  hymns  and  spiritual  songs 
were  only  designed  for  the  Gentile  Christians, 
would  not  their  introduction  be  calculated  to  keep 
up  a  bad  state  of  feeling  between  these  two  classes 
of  Christians,  who  were  so  disposed  to  cherish  un- 


84  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

friendly  feelings  towards  each  other?  (c?.)  The 
strongest  presumption,  however,  that  presents  it- 
self to  our  mind  against  this  interpretation  is,  that 
it  places  uninspired  compositions  upon  a  par  with 
those  which  are  inspired.  Here  we  have,  according 
to  this  view,  the  apostle  associating,  in  the  most  inti- 
mate connexion,  that  which  is  confessedly  the  word 
of  God,  with  the  word  of  man;  and  not  only  so, 
but  directing  it  to  be  used  for  the  same  end.  Now 
we  would  address  ourselves  to  that  reverence  which 
the  Christian  reader  cherishes  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  ask  him  whether  an  interpretation  involving 
such  a  presumption  as  this,  is  reasonable?  Were 
we  to  hear  him  giving  an  affirmative  answer  to  this 
question,  we  must  say  we  would  receive  it  with  no 
little  surprise. 

(4.)  Another  evidence  in  favour  of  supposing 
the  apostle  by  these  three  terms  to  mean  the  same 
thing,  is  the  fact  that  they  are  so  employed  by  Eng- 
lish, Greek  and  Hebrew  writers  who  are  not  in- 
spired, and  also  by  the  inspired  writers.  A  mul- 
titude of  instances  might  be  given,  but  we  shall 
confine  ourselves  to  a  few.  In  the  preface  to  a 
late  work,  entitled  'The  Psalms  of  David,  trans- 
lated by  J.  A.  Alexander,  Professor  in  the  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Princeton,'  the  reader  will  find 
the  following  remarks:  'A  still  more  marked  re- 
semblance is,  that  they  (the  Psalms.)  are  all  not 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  85 

only  poetical  but  lyrical,  i.  e.  songs,  poems,  intended 
to  be  sung,  and  with  a  musical  accompaniment. 
Thirdly.  They  are  all  religious  lyrics,  even  those 
which  seem  at  first  sight  the  most  secular  in  theme 
and  spirit,  but  which  are  all  found  on  inquiry  to  be 
strongly  expressive  of  religious  feeling.  In  the 
fourth  place,  they  are  all  ecclesiastical  lyrics,  psalms 
or  hymns,  intended  to  be  permanently  used  in  the 
worship  of  God,  not  excepting  those  which  bear  the 
clearest  impress  of  original  connexion  with  the  social, 
domestic  or  personal  relations  and  experience  of  the 
writers.'  Now  we  have  this  learned  and  highly 
esteemed  Professor,  declaring  not  only  that  the 
Psalms  of  David  are  all  intended  to  be  permanently 
used  in  the  puhlic  icorship  of  God,  (a  remark  wor- 
thy the  attention  of  the  reader,)  but  also  that  they 
are  all  songs  and  hymns.  Will  this  language  be 
justified?  Then  why  suppose  that  the  apostle 
means  any  thing  else  by  these  terms,  but  the  same 
Psalms  of  David,  and  why  represent  those  who  con- 
fine the  matter  of  their  praise  to  these  psalms,  as  op- 
posing the  use  of  hymns  and  spiritual  songs?  Jo- 
sephus  refers  to  the  Psalms  of  David  under  the  naoie 
of  songs  and  hymns.  The  Apostolic  Canons  con- 
tain this  injunction:  'Erfpoj  tov^  tov  Aa^cS  4a7i/\,fT'co 
^vf^vovc,  xa.1  ^0  Xaoj  to.  (xx^r^ntix^o.  vtx.o\qX'Kzt:i^.  Let 
another  sing  the  hymns  of  David,  and  let  the  peo- 
ple repeat  the  concluding  lines.'  Here  we  have 
8 


86  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

not  only  a  proof  of  the  very  great  antiquity  of  the 
use  of  David's  Psahus  in  the  Christian  church,  but 
also  a  proof  that  they  were  known  by  the  name  of 
hymns — the  very  same  name  in  the  original  which 
the  apostle  employs  in  the  text.  Dr.  Gill  tells  us 
that  they  are  spoken  of  in  the  Talmud  by  the  name 
of  ^  songs  and  praises,  or  hymns.'  Let  us  now  open 
the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  here  we  shall  find  proof 
to  the  same  effect.  "We  find  the  Psalms  called 
^Sephcr  Tehillim/  (the  Hymn  Book,)  in  the  very 
title  of  the  Hebrew  copy  of  the  Psalms.  The  145th 
Psalm  is  called  Tehilla  1'  David,  which  Gesenius 
translates,  'a  hymn  of  David.'  The  same  term  is 
frequently  introduced  into  the  body  of  the  Psalm. 
Let  the  reader  compare  Psalm  22d  and  verse  23d 
of  the  Hebrew,  with  the  Greek  of  Hebrews  ii.  12, 
and  he  will  find  the  declaration  of  the  Psalmist, 
<In  the  midst  of  the  congregation  I  will  praise  thee,' 
[ahalleka]  rendered  by  the  apostle,  [ ^v^vj^crco,]  ^I 
will  sing  a  hymn  to  thee.'  The  word  Halleluja, 
which  so  frequently  occurs  in  the  Psalms,  is  just 
a  call  to  sing  a  hymn  to  the  Lord.  Other  illustra- 
tions of  this  might  be  given,  but  let  these  suffice. 
Now  when  we  find  the  sacred  writers,  and  among 
these  the  apostle  himself,  using  this  very  tefm 
Hiymn'  in  application  to  the  songs  of  inspiration, 
is  it  not  fair  to  infer  that  he  used  it  with  the  same 
application  in  the  passage  before  us?     But  this  is 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  87 

not  all.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  apostle 
made  use  of  the  Scptuagiiit  version  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. With  this  version  the  Ephesians  and  Co- 
lossians,  being  Greeks,  were  no  doubt  familiar. 
Let  us  open  then  this  version  of  the  ]/salms,  and 
we  will  find  some  of  them  bearing  the  title  of  a 
psalm,  others  of  a  hymn,  and  others  of  a  song  ex- 
actly corresponding  to  the  three  Hebrew  titles, 
Mizmar,  Tehilla  and  Shir.  These  words  in  the 
Septuagint  are  the  very  same  as  those  which  are 
employed  by  the  apostle  when  he  directs  the  Ephe- 
sians and  Colossians  to  'sing  psalms,  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs.'  Will  the  reader  then  look  at  this, 
and  ask  himself  whether  the  probabilities  in  favour 
of  our  interpretation  of  this  passage  arc  not  such 
as  almost  to  amount  to  a  moral  certainty.  We 
may  just  remark,  that  the  editors  of  the  Repertory 
say,  vol.  7,  page  76,  'External  evidence  places  the 
titles  of  the  Psalms  precisely  on  the  same  founda- 
tion with  the  Psalms  themselves.'  Professor  Alex- 
ander, of  Princeton,  says,  'They  are  found  in  the 
Hebrew  text  as  far  as  we  can  trace  its  history,  not 
as  addenda,  but  as  integral  parts  of  the  composi- 
tion/ 

(5.)  "Another  consideration  which  makes  it 
highly  probable  that  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  intended 
by  the  apostle,  is  the  fact  that  tlie  same  language 
is  employed  by  the  evangelist  in   Matthew  xxvi. 


38  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

BO,  where  he  tells  us  that  the  Saviour  and  his  dis- 
ciples at  the  celebration  of  the  passover  sang  a 
hymn;  [^vfivrjaavtsi,  the^  havinr/ h^mned.^  That  a 
portion  of  the  Psalms  of  David  was  used,  is  almost 
universally  admitted.  Indeed  there  is  hardly  any 
thing  apon  which  commentators  seem  to  be  more 
generally  agreed  than  this.  The  evidence  in  its 
behalf  is  as  strong  as  it  well  could  be  without  being 
positively  asserted  by  the  historian.  The  writings 
of  the  Jews  abound  with  testimony  to  prove  that  it 
■was  their  custom  during  that  solemnity  to  sing  the 
six  Psalms  of  David,  beginning  with  the  113th, 
and  ending  with  the  118th.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  a  hymn  was  made  for  the  occasion,  and  we 
know  that  it  was  his  custom  to  comply  with  the 
observances  of  the  Jews,  of  which  this  was  one 
part,  and  certainly  a  most  appropriate  part.  Now 
if  it  be  admitted  that  the  hymn  sung  by  our  Sa- 
viour and  his  discijDles  on  this  most  affecting  occa- 
sion was  an  inspired  hymn,  we  argue,  from  this  ad- 
mission, that  the  hymns  referred  to  by  the  apostk 
in  these  passages  belonged  to  the  same  inspired  col- 
lection. If  this  inspired  collection  was  used  by 
Dur  Lord  and  his  disciples,  the  presumption  is,  in 
absence  of  all  proof  to  the  contrary,  that  they  would 
still  continue  to  be  used  by  the  disciples.  That 
this  admission  is  made  by  those  who  use  uninspired 
compositions,  we  have  only  to  refer  to  Mr.  Barnes- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  S& 

He  says  on  this  passage,  *  The  passover  was  obsen  id 
by  the  Jews  by  singing,  or  chanting,  the  113th, 
114th,  115th,  116th,  117th  and  118th  Psalms. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  our  Saviour  and  the 
apostles  also,  used  the  same  Psalms  in  their  obser- 
vance of  the  passover/  Why  then  doubt  that  the 
apostle  referred  to  the  same  collection  when  he 
told  the  Ephesians  to  ^sing  hymns?'  Surely  if  any 
argument  can  be  drawn  from  the  usus  loquendi  of 
the  Sxicred  writers,  it  is  on  the  side  of  those  who 
maintain  that  the  reference  in  this  passage  is  to 
the  Psalms  of  divine  inspiration. 

(6.)  In  the  preceding  remarks  we  have  looked 
simply  at  the  names  employed  by  the  apostle  in  de- 
signating that  which  he  would  have  these  Ephesians 
and  Colossians  to  sing.  We  now  request  the  reader 
to  give  us  his  attention  while  we  present  to  his  con- 
sideration some  additional  evidence,  drawn  from  the 
language  employed  by  the  apostle  in  connexion  with 
the  use  of  these  three  terms,  (a.)  These  songs 
are  called  ^spiritual  songs,'  [^wSatj  7ivivixa.tLxat,i.~\ 
The  heathen  made  use  of  odes.  In  order  to  dis- 
tinguish those  which  the  apostle  would  have  them 
to  use,  he  calls  them  '  spiritual.'  Now  we  appre- 
hend that  there  is,  in  the  use  of  this  term,  a  proof 
that  the  songs  referred  to  by  the  apostle  were  those 
contained  in  the  Scriptures.  If  the  reader  will 
take  the  pains,  as  we  have  done,  to  examine  those 


90  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

places  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures  wliere  this 
word  occurs,  lie  will  find  that  in  every  instance 
where  the  reference  is  not  to  created  spirits,  there 
is  a  distinct  reference  to  the  Spirit  of  God  as  the 
author  of  that  to  which  the  term  is  applied.  Thus 
^spiritual  gifts'  are  such  as  are  communicated  di- 
rectly by  the  Spirit.  We  shall  here  quote  the 
words  of  Mr.  Barnes  on  the  word  'spiritual/  as  it 
occurs  in  1  Cor.  x.  3,  4,  'And  did  all  eat  of  the 
same  spiritual  meat,  and  did  all  drink  of  the  same 
spiritual  drink,  for  they  drank  of  that  spiritual 
rock  that  followed  them.'  'The  word  spiritual 
here,'  says  Mr.  Barnes,  'is  evidently  used  to  denote 
that  which  was  given  by  the  Spirit,  or  by  God; 
that  which  was  the  result  of  his  miraculous  gift, 
and  which  was  not  produced  by  the  ordinary  way, 
and  which  was  not  the  gross  food  on  which  men 
are  usually  supported.  It  had  an  excellency  and 
value  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  immediate  gift 
of  God,  and  thus  called  angels'  food,  Vs.  Ixxviii. 
25.  It  is  called  by  Josephus  'divine  and  extraor- 
dinary food.'  [Antiq.  3.  1.]  In  the  language  of 
the  Scriptures,  that  which  is  distinguished  for  ex- 
cellence, which  is  the  immediate  gift  of  God,  which 
is  unlike  that  which  is  gross,  and  of  earthly  origin, 
is  called  spiritual,  to  denote  its  purity,  value,  and 
excellence;  compare  Rom.  vii.  14,  1  Cor.  iii.  1; 
XV.  44,  46;  Eph.  i.  3.     The  idea  of  Paul  here  is, 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  91 

that  all  the  Israelites  were  nourished  and  supported 
in  this  remarkable  manner  by  food  given  directly 
by  God.'     Again  he  says,  '  The  word  spiritual  must 
be  used  in  the  sense  of  supernatural,  or  that  which 
is  immediately  given  by  God.'     In  addition  to  the 
passages  to  which  Mr.  Barnes  refers,  let  the  reader 
consult  Rom.  i.  11;  xv.  27;  1  Cor.  ii.  13,  11,  15; 
ix.  11;    xii.  1;  xiv.  1,  37:    Gal.  vi.  1;    Col.  i.  9. 
Now  let  this  meaning  be  attached  to  the  word  in 
the  passage  before  us,  and  we  are  brought  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  songs  here  referred  to  by  the 
apostle,  are  those  which  were  'given  by  the  Spirit, 
or  by  God/  which  were  'not  produced  in  the  or- 
dinary way,'  but  which  were  'bestowed  in  a  mira- 
culous and  supernatural  manner,'  and  where  will 
we  find  such  songs  but  those  which  are  contained 
in  the  Scriptures?     In  singing  the  Psalms  of  Da- 
vid, we  know  that  we  are  singing  such  songs,  for  he 
himself  tells  us,  that  '  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  spake 
by  him,  and  his  word  was  on  his  tongue.'     That 
this  is  the  import  of  the  word  spiritual,  as  here 
used,  is  rendered  highly  probable  from  the  circum- 
stance that  the  apostle  has  expressly  mentioned 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  same  sentence,  (h.)  Another 
reason  for  this  interpretation  is,  that  the  apostle 
directs  to  the  use  of  these   'psalms,  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,'  as  the  means  of  being  'filled  with 
the  Spirit.'     Now  is  not  the  word  of  God,  the  very 


92  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY 

word  of  God,  the  means  which  he  makes  use  of  in 
filling  the  hearts  of  his  people  ?  When  the  Saviour 
prayed  that  the  Father  would  sanctify  his  disciples 
through  his  truth,  he  adds,  '  Thy  word  is  truth/ 
There  we  must  go,  if  we  would  be  filled  with  the 
Spirit.  Out  of  these  living  wells  we  must  draw 
water,  with  which  to  refresh  our  souls,  (c.)  "We 
find  that  the  apostle  directs  to  the  singing  of  psalms, 
hymns  and  spiritual  songs,  as  the  means  of  letting 
Uhe  word  of  Christ  dwell  in  them  richly,  in  all 
wisdom.'  Guyse  has  a  sermon  on  this  text,  en- 
titled 'The  Scriptures  the  word  of  Christ.'  This 
he  shows  from  three  considerations.  'He  is  its 
author;'  'He  is  its  great  subject;'  and  'He  works 
and  carries  on  his  interest  by  it.'  ^The  Spirit  of 
Christ,'  we  are  told,  'was  in  the  prophets,  when 
they  testified  beforehand  of  the  sufi'erings  of  Christ 
and  the  glory  that  should  follow,'  and  it  is  said, 
^He  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in  prison;' 
so  that  the  Psalms  of  David  may,  with  the  greatest 
propriety,  be  called  'the  word  of  Christ.'  'There 
is  not/  says  Bishop  Horsely,  'a  page  of  this  Book 
of  Psalms,  in  which  the  pious  reader  will  not  find 
his  Saviour,  if  he  reads  with  a  view  of  finding  him.' 
'  We  are  in  these  Psalms,'  (says  Dr.  Piussell,  in  his 
admirable  Letters,)  'brought,  as  it  were,  into  his 
closet,  arc  made  the  witnesses  of  his  secret  devo- 
tions, and  are  enabled  to  see  even  the  inward  work- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  93 

ings  of  his  heart/     Guyse,  in  the  sermon  before 
referred  to  infers  that  the  'word  of  Christ/  as  here 
mentioned  by  the  apostle,  includes  not  only  the 
New,  but  also  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.     He 
remarks,  'It  is  in  this  most  extensive  view,  that 
our  apostle  seems  to  take  it,  by  his  speaking,  in 
the  remainder  of  the  verse,  of  teaching  and  ad- 
monishing one  another  in  psalms,  and  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs,  which  look  with  a  very  strong  as- 
pect toward  the  Old  Testament  writings,  some  of 
which  are  set  forth  under  these  titles/     Add  to 
this  the  consideration  that  but  a  part  of  the  New 
Testament  Scriptures  was  written  at  this  time,  so 
that  we  may  readily  suppose  that  the  reference  of 
the  apostle  is  to  the  'psalms,  hymns  and  spiritual 
songs'  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures.     At  all 
events  they  must  be  such  as  belonged  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  this  is  all  for  wHich  we  are  now  contend- 
ing.    Now  the  reader  will  observe  that  it  is  this 
'word,'  (not  simply  the  principles  of  this  word,  but 
the  word   itself,)  which  the  apostle   would  have 
these  Ephesians  to  let  dwell  in  them,  by  singing 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs.     Is  not 
this  more  likely  to  be  done  by  singing  the  sacred 
songs  of  this  word,  than  by  singing  those  which 
have  been  composed  by  erring  man,  whatever  may 
be  his  piety  and  learning?     Is  it  not  more  likely 
that  we  shall  in  this  way  attain  to  that  'wisdom' 


94  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

of  which  the  apostle  speaks  in  the  same  passage  ? 
We  know  how  it  was  with  David;'  'I  have  more 
understanding/  he  could  say,  Hhan  all  my  teachers, 
for  tliy  testimonies  are  my  meditation.' 

"  We  have  thus  given  these  two  passages  a  care- 
ful and  critical  examination.  In  this  examination 
nothing  has  been  assumed — not  a  single  idea  in  the 
whole  process  of  exposition  has  been  advanced  with- 
out a  reason  having  been  assigned  for  it.  The  points 
have  been  distinctly  presented  so  that  the  reader 
can  examine  each  of  these  points  for  himself,  as  it 
is  laid  before  him.  We  now  submit  this  exposi- 
tion to  the  candid  consideration  of  all  who  may  de- 
sire to  know  the  mind  of  God  as  revealed  in  his 
word,  and  with  whom  in  judging  of  matters  per- 
taining to  the  worship  of  God,  the  great  question 
ever  is,  What  saith  the  Scripture? 

"Having  subjected  these  passages  to  what  we 
believe  to  be  a  faithful  and  impartial  examination, 
it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  inquire  how  far  the 
result  harmonizes  with  the  views  of  distinguished 
divines  and  commentators.  A  careful  inquiry  will 
show  that  those  who  maintain  that  the  hymns  and 
spiritual  songs  mentioned  by  the  Apostle,  are  those 
of  inspiration,  have  clearly  the  weight  of  authority 
on  their  side. 

"In  an  edition  of  the  Westminster  version  of 
the  Psalms,  published  in  1673,  the  reader  will  find 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  95 

a  preface  signed  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Owen  and 
twenty-five  others,  among  whom  are  to  be  found 
the  most  illustrious  divines  that  have  ever  adorned 
the  church.  Their  testimony  on  the  point  before 
lis  is  given  in  the  following  words,  'To  us,  David's 
Psalms  seem  plainly  intended  by  these  terms  of 
psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs,  which  the 
apostle  useth,  Eph.  v.  19,  Col.  iii.  16/ 

^'Ridgely,  in  his  Body  of  Divinity,  expresses  the 
same  view,  and  says,  '  It  cannot  be  d-enied  that  the 
Psalms  of  David  are  called  indifferently  by  these 
names.' 

"Dr.  Gill,  the  learned  Calvinistic  divine  of  the 
Baptist  school,  in  the  introductory  remarks  to  his 
commentary  on  the  Book  of  Psalms,  says,  '  To  these 
several  names  of  this  book,  the  apostle  manifestly 
refers  in  Eph.  v.  19,  Col.  iii.  16.'  In  his  exposi- 
tion of  Eph.  V.  19,  he  thus  expresses  himself,  'The 
hymns  are  only  another  name  for  the  Book  of 
Psalms,'  and  'by  spiritual  songs  are  meant  the 
same  psalms  of  David,  Asaph,  &c.' 

"Calvin,  according  to  Doddridge  in  his  note  to 
Col.  iii.  16,  'thinks  all  these  words  refer  to  David's 
poetical  pieces.' 

"Beza,  according  to  Macknight,  ' thiuka  j^sahns 
in  this  passage  denote  those  poetical  compositions 
in  which  David  uttered  his  complaints  and  prayers; 
also  those  historical  narratives  by  which  he  in- 


96  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

structed  the  people;  and  hymns  are  his  other  com- 
positions in  which  he  celebrated  the  praises  of  God.' 

"Macknight  limits  the  'psalms,  and  hymns,  and 
spiritmil  songs  mentioned  by  the  apostle,  to  those 
which  were  'recorded  in  the  Scripture/  and  to 
such  as  were  'dictated  by  the  Spirit.'  The  same 
view  is  expressed  by  the  continuators  of  Henry's 
Commentary,  and  by  Bloomfiold,  Brown,  Home, 
Durham,  Daille  and  others. 

"The  reader  will  see  from  the  authorities  to 
which  we  have  referred,  that  our  criticisms  on 
these  passages  jjresc;*^  fliem  in  no  new  light  to  the 
church.  Indeed,  we  question  whether  any  one  of 
the  evangelical  denominations  can  find  any  thing 
like  the  same  authority,  either  in  point  of  weight 
or  variety,  for  their  interpretation  of  any  of  the 
proof  texts  on  which  they  rest  any  thing  that  is 
distinctive  in  their  profession,  either  in  relation  to 
doctrine,  worship,  or  government. '^ 

I.  Some  use  is  made  in  defending  "hymns"  of 
Isaiah  xxvi.  1,  "In  that  day  shall  this  song  be 
sung  in  the  land  of  Judah,"  &c.  It  is  obvious,  how- 
ever, to  remark,  (1.)  That  this,  if  a  "song"  literally 
intended  to  be  sung,  is  an  inspired  one;  how  then 
can  the  language  of  the  prophet  be  an  argument 
for  the  use  of  uninspired  hymns?  At  most,  it 
can  only  touch  the  question,  whether  any  Bible 
songs  may  be  used  in  worship  other  than  those  con- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  97 

taincd  in  the  Book  of  Psalms?  (2.)  If  sung-,  it 
must  be  sung  as  given,  in  a  literal  translation, 
though  metrical.  Hence,  this  passage  contains  no 
argument  for  even  a  paraphrase — using  the  term 
in  its  modern  acceptation.  But  (3.)  It  is  bj  no 
means  certain  that  it  was  intended  that  this  pas- 
sage should  be  used  as  a  part  of  the  Church's 
manual  of  praise :  for  had  this  been  the  design  of 
the  SjDirit,  how  did  it  happen  that  this  "song" 
was  not  introduced  into  the  worship  of  the  church 
from  the  earliest  period,  and  continued  down  to 
our  day  ?  Surely  there  has  been  some  strange  over- 
sight here!  Whatever  use  has  been  made  of  this 
passage  in  song,  has  been^  so  far  as  any  testimony 
appears,  of  very  late  date.  (4.)  The  prophecy  has 
been  accomplished,  however,  and  the  saints  have 
used  with  gratitude  this  language  in  magnifying 
the  power,  and  faithfulness,  and  mercy  of  Judah's 
Saviour  and  King,  although  they  have  not  sung 
this  passage  in  their  exercises  of  devotion.  (5.) 
Have  the  advocates  of  " hymns''  given  this  song 
any  prominent  place  in  their  public  praises? 

We  cannot  find  the  Scripture  warrant  which  is 
claimed  for  uninspired  songs  in  Grod's  worship. 
The  Bible  gives  them  no  sanction. 

II.  It  is  affirmed  that  such  hymns  and  songs 
have  the  sanction  of  long  and  general  use  in  the 
Christian  church:  and  some  have  gone  so  far  as  to 
9 


98  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

put  hymn -singing  under  the  rule,  that  what  the 
people  of  God  always,  and  in  all  places  have  held, 
is  right;  regarding  the  exceptions  as  so  few,  that 
they  may  be  left  entirely  out  of  the  account.  In 
reply,  we  might  content  ourselves  with  the  re-as- 
sertion of  the  principle  which  holds  a  high  place 
in  the  estimation  of  the  purest  Protestants,  namely, 
that  the  practice  of  the  church  is  of  small  moment 
in  settling  any  controversy  in  regard  to  faith  or 
duty,  unless  we  go  as  far  back  as  apostolic  times, 
and  ascertain  the  apostolic  sanction;  or,  in  other 
words,  except  as  we  find  these  matters  of  faith  and 
duty  recorded  or  exemplified  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures. We  are  persuaded,  however,  that  those  with 
whom  we  now  reason,  can  find  no  such  use  of 
hymns  in  the  Christian  church,  as  implies  the  Di- 
vine approbation,  or  even  until  a  late  period,  a  full 
ecclesiastical  sanction. 

For  greater  distinctness  in  considering  the  sub- 
ject, we  divide  the  history  of  the  Church  into  three 
'  periods — the  Primitive,  the  Mediaeval,  and  the  Re- 
formed. 

1.  The  Primitive,  extending  from  the  close  of 
the  first  century,  down  to  the  fourth  or  fifth.'''  And 
here  we  state:  (1.)  That  no  hymn  can  be  traced 


■^  Strictly  taken,  the  limits  of  the  Primitive  Church, 
would  be  narrower  than  this. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  99 

back  to  apostolic  times.  A  late  writer"^ — almost 
an  enthusiast  in  reference  to  liymns^  but  who  has 
carefully  examined  his  ground,  sajs^  <' Three  Hymns 
have  come  down  to  us  from  early  times/'  These 
are  the  "Tersanctus/^  the  ''Te  Deum,"  and  the 
^^ Gloria  in  Excelsis/'  Of  these,  the  ''Te  Deum" 
belongs  to  the  later  periods  of  the  fourth  century: 
of  the  "  Tersanctus/'  or  ^^ Thrice  Holy/'  it  is  said 
that  '^all  that  can  be  discovered"  is,  that  it  "can 
be  found  in  the  earliest  known  liturgies :"  and  of 
the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis'^  that  it  is  "possibly  or 
probably  more  ancient  than  any  thing  Clem  eat  of 
Alexandria,  the  earliest  hymn-writer,  ever  wrote/'f 
And  of  all  the  "Anonymous  Greek  Hymns/'  this 
writer  says,  "Whether,  therefore,  the  greater  purity 
of  many  of  these  anonymous  hymns  arises  from 
their  greater  antiquity,  or  from  a  fresh  approach  to 
that  ever-present  Fountain  in  an  age  when  many 
had  recourse  to  polluted  waters  and  broken  cisterns, 
is  a  problem  we  may  contentedly  leave  unsolved." 
Now  had  hymns  been  used  with  apostolic  sanction, 


*  The  author  of  a  work  entitled,  "The  Voice  of  the 
Christian  Life  in  Song :  or,  Hymns  and  Hymn-writers  of 
Many  Lands  and  x\ges,"  understood  to  be  by  a  clergyman 
of  the  English  Establishment.  The  edition  from  which 
we  quote,  is  that  of  Robert  Carter  &  Brother,  New  York, 
1859. 

•j-  Clement  lived  at  the  end  of  the  second  century. 


100  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

could  they  have  so  completely  perished  ?  No  kind 
of  literature  is  so  certainly  transmitted  to  future 
generations  as  songs.  Is  it  possible,  that  songs 
which  had  been  sung  by  the  apostles,  and  apostolic 
churches,  should  have  so  completely  disappeared 
from  the  life  and  memory  of  the  church  ?  (2.)  The 
Scripture  Psalms  were  used  from  the  earliest 
periods  of  the  church,  and  the  weight  of  evidence 
is  in  favour  of  their  exclusive  use  in  the  apostolic 
church.  The  Biblical  Repertory  (1829,)  says  "  From 
the  Jewish  synagogue,  sacred  music  very  naturally 
passed  into  the  Christian  sanctuary.  Our  blessed 
Lord  himself,  on  that  memorable  night  when  he 
instituted  the  sacramental  memorial  of  his  dying 
love,  furnished  the  transition  act  by  concluding  the 
solemnity  with  a  hymn.*  As  the  first  Christians 
were  drawn  from  the  synagogue,  they  naturally 
brought  with  them  those  Songs  of  Zion,  which  were 
associated  with  all  their  earliest  recollections  and 
best  feelings,  and  appropriated  them  to  the  service 
of  the  new  dispensation."  It  adds,  speaking  of  al- 
leged changes  of  an  early  date,  ''In  the  hands  of  ■ 
apostles  or  Christian  poets  of  apostolic  times,  we 
have  no  information.  At  a  later  period  we  find 
Psalms  in  general  use  in  the  churches,  and  judged 

*  The   Hillel,   some  portion  of  Psalms  113   to   118. 
Princeton  Bib.  Repertory  for  1829. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  101 

by  the  fathers  the  most  estimable  portion  of  their 
religious  services.     The  Apostolical  Canons  contain 
the  injunction;   ^Let  another  sing  the  h^mns  of 
Davidj  and  let  the  people  repeat  the  concluding 
lines. ^     We  can  hardly  conceive  it  possible  that 
the  Psalms  of  David  could  have  been  so  generally 
adopted  in  the  churches,  and  so  highly  esteemed 
by  the  best  of  the  fathers,  unless  they  had  been  in- 
troduced or  sanctioned  by  the  apostles  and  inspired 
teachers. ''*     Neander,  who  without  furnishing  any 
direct  proof  of  his  statement,  speaks  of  hymns  at 
this  early  date,  furnishes  evidence  in  the  following 
quotation  against  his  own  view,  well  suited  to  our 
purpose,  "Besides  the  Psalms  which  had  been  used 
from  the  earliest  times,  and  the  short  doxohgies 
and  hijmns  consisting  of  verses  from  the  holy  scrip- 
tures, spiritual  songs  composed  by  distinguished 
church  teachers,  were  also  introduced  among  the 
pieces  used  for  puMic   worship,  in   the  Western 
church.     To  the  last  named  practice  much  oppo- 
sition, it  is  true,  was  expressed.     It  was  demanded, 
that,  in  conformity  with  the  ancient  usage,  nothing 
should  be  used  in  the  music  of  public  worship,  but 
what  was  taken  from  the  sacred  scriptures.     As 
sectaries  and  heretical  parties  often  had  recourse 
to  church  Psalmody  to  spread  their  own  religious 


*  Princeton  Biblical  Repertory  for  1829. 
9* 


102  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

opinions,  all  tliose  songs  wbicli  had  not  been  for  a 
long  time  in  use  in  the  church,  were  particularly 
liable  to  suspicion."*  In  this,  Neander  is  treating 
of  a  comparatively  late  period,  and  yet,  even  then 
the  introduction  of  hymns,  although  written  by 
'' eminent  teachers,'^  was  ''opposed,"  and  the  "an- 
cient practice"  was  acknowledged,  and,  it  would 
seem,  maintained  to  be,  that  nothing  should  be 
sung  but  what  was  "contained  in  the  sacred  Scrip- 
tures." Hence,  even  these  songs,  which  are  said 
to  have  been  "long  in  use,"  unless  they  were 
Scripture  Psalms,  must  have  been  introduced  after 
the  times  then  called  "ancient,"  going  back  to 
the  apostolic.  The  significant  fact,  however,  is, 
that  the  introduction  of  "hymns"  was,  at  that 
time,  an  innovation.  (3.)  The  first  known  h^-mn- 
writer  was  Bardesanes,  "a  native  of  iEdessa,  a  man 
of  mind,  of  a  Gnostic  sect,  and  of  course  a  zealous 
opponent  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Godhead  of  Christ, 
in  the  second  century.  He  was  among  the  first, 
if  not  the  first,  that  was  distinguished  for  the  com- 
position of  new  hymns.  The  Gnostic  doctrines 
were  poetic,  and  they  were  made  popular,  and 
widely  extended  by  the  liymns  and  odes  of  this  he- 
retical poet,  and  those  of  his  more  distinguished 
son,  Harmonius,  who,  with  his  father,  espoused 

*  Hist.  ii.  318. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  103 

the  same  bad  cause.  Bardesanes  ^'imitated  Da- 
vid, that  he  might  be  adored  and  recommended  by 
similar  honours.  For  this  purpose  he  composed 
150  psalms/*  Into  those  psalms  and  hymns  he 
infused  his  corrupt  and  mystic  doctrines,  render- 
ing them  agreeable  to  the  taste  of  his  readers  '  by 
the  charms  of  novelty,  and  the  embellishments  of 
oriental  style/  And  it  is  added,  'Thus  the  Syrian 
church  was  in  danger  of  being  overflowed  with 
Gnostic  errorsthrough  the  mighty  vehicle  of  soug/'-j* 
The  next  in  order,  is  Clement,  already  mentioned. 
He  wrote  but  one  hymn,  but  whether  to  be  sung, 
or  whether  it  was  sung  in  the  worship  of  God  at 
the  time,  is  a  thing  unknown :  we  have  seen  no 
evidence  that  it  was.  (4.)  We  have,  besides  the 
clear  testimony  of  Neander,  ample  evidence,  some 
of  which  we  have  furnished  in  our  first  chapter, 
that  the  Psalms  of  Scripture  were  most  highly  re- 
garded, and  constantly  used  in  the  early  church, 
while  hymns  were  still  regarded  with  suspicion. 
Augustine  says — he  is  of  the  fourth  century,  "The 
Donatists,  too,  'reproached  the  orthodox,'  'because 
they  sung  with  sobriety  the  divine  songs  of  the 


*  Ephraem  the  Syrian,  as  quoted  by  the  Princeton  Re- 
pertory of  1829,  in  an  interesting  article  on  "  The  sacred 
poetry  of  the  early  Christians,"  p.  530. 

f  M'Master's  Apology,  pp.  41-45. 


104  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

prophets^  while  they  (the  Donatists)  inflamed  their 
minds  with  the  poetic  efiFusions  of  human  genius." 
In  the  Apostolic  Constitutions*  we  learn  that ''  the 
women,  the  children,  and  the  humblest  mechanics, 
could  repeat  all  the  Psalms  of  David;  they  chanted 
them  at  home  and  abroad;  they  made  them  the  ex- 
ercises of  their  piety  and  the  refreshment  of  their 
minds.  Thus  they  had  answers  ready  to  oppose 
temptation,  and  were  always  prepared  to  pray  to 
God,  and  to  praise  him,  in  any  circumstance,  in  a 
form  of  his  own  inditing."  Cassian  of  the  fifth 
century,  says,  "The  elders  have  not  changed  the 
ancient  custom  of  singing  ^saZms.  The  devotions 
are  performed  in  the  same  order  as  formerly.  The 
hymns  which  it  had  been  the  custom  to  sing  at  the 
close  of  the  night  vigils,  namely,  the  50th,  62d, 
89th,  148th  Psalms,  &c.,  are  the  same  hymns  which 
are  sung  at  this  day."  And  as  late  as  A.  D.  561, 
563,  the  council  of  Braga  forbid  "  the  introduction 


■^  Of  these  Dr.  M 'Master  says,  "The  collection  of  re- 
gulations, knoTvn  under  the  name  of  the  'Apostolical  Con- 
stitutions,' made  its  appearance  in  the  fourth  century. 
Though  we  may  justly  dispute  its  apostolical  origin,  it 
may  be  admitted  of  sufficient  authority,  as  far  as  it  indi- 
cates the  customs  of  the  third  and  following  century.  We 
see  its  testimony  respecting  the  use  of  the  Book  of 
0    Psalms." 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  105 

of  other  poetry  into  the  Psalmody  of  the  church, 
beyond  the  songs  of  canonical  scriptureJ^'^ 

The  history  of  this  early  period  furnishes  nothing 
pf  which  the  advocates  of  "hymns"  attempt  to 
make  much  use,  excepting  a  passage  in  Pliny's 
letter  to  Trajan,  early  in  the  second  century,  and 
an  extract  from  an  epistle  of  the  council  of  An- 
tioch,  A.  D.,  264,  regarding  a  certain  proceeding 
of  Paulus  of  Samosata.  Pliny  says,  that  he  had 
learned  that  the  Christians  of  Bithynia  "were  wont 
to  meet  together  on  a  stated  day,  before  it  was  light, 
and  sing  among  themselves  alternately  a  hymn  to 
Christ  as  God,"  &c.  But  what,  we  ask  with  some 
astonishment,  is  there  in  this — even  admitting  that 
Pliny's  words  are  the  precise  ones  that  a  Christian 
would  have  used  in  speaking  of  their  Psalmody — 
to  countenance  the  supposition  that  they  sang  un- 
inspired compositions?  Surely,  the  Psalms  of  the 
(Bible  exhibit  Christ  as  a  divine  Person!  Does  not 
the  apostle  Paul  take  arguments  from  the  Psalms 
(see  Heb.  i.)  to  demonstrate  the  proper  divinity  of 
the  Son  ?  Have  not  a  host  of  Christians,  past  and 
present,  found  Christ  in  these  Psalms,  and  wor- 
shipped Him,  in  singing  them,  as  a  divine  Saviour? 
Nor  was  the  early  church  ignorant  on  this  subject, 
as  will  appear  presently. 

*  Ut  extra  psalmos  vel  scripturas  canonicas  nihil  poetice 
compositum  in  ecclesia  psallatur.     M'Master,  p.  65. 


106  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

But;  are  not  the  words  of  a  pagan  pro-consul 
rather  a  slender  foundation  on  which  to  build  so 
large  an  edifice  of  hymn-singing?  If  hymns  were 
then  composed  and  sung — if  this  was  the  custom, — 
if  it  had  been  consecrated,  and  the  songs  themselves 
in  a  sense,  by  the  death  of  martyrs,  we  again  ask, 
what  has  become  of  them,  and  why  has  it  been  left 
to  subsequent  ages  to  learn  the  fact  that  they  ex- 
isted from  one  rather  vague  sentence  in  a  Koman 
pro-consul's  letter?  Certainly,  we  might  look  for 
some  more  direct  and  explicit  knowledge  of  so  im- 
portant a  fact,  through  some  ecclesiastical  channel! 
How  much  we  have,  has  been  seen  already:  or, 
more  correctly,  that  we  have  nothing  of  the  kind, 
through  the  testimony  of  the  church  herself. 

As  to  Paul  of  Samosata,  we  allow  Dr.  Pressly  to 
speak.  "  There  is  a  passage  of  history  in  connexion 
with  the  life  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  which  has 
sometimes  been  referred  to,  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  the  conclusion  that  hymns  of  human 
composition  were  in  general  use  in  the  primitive 
age,  in  the  orthodox  church,  and  that  it  was 
through  the  influence  of  heretical  teachers,  that  the 
Psalms  of  David  were  introduced.  It  will  at  once 
occur  to  the  reflecting  Christian,  that  it  would  be 
something  very  strange,  if  it  were  really  so,  that  the 
enemies  of  the  truth  should  manifest  a  partiality 
for  a  portion  of  the  word  of  God,  which  has  always 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  107 

been  peculiarly  dear  to  the  humble,  practical  Chris^ 
tian.  But  what  are  the  facts  in  the  case  just  re- 
ferred to?  Paul  of  Samosata,  who  rejected  the 
doctrine  of  our  Lord's  divinity,  has  been  repre- 
sented as  banishing  from  the  church  in  Antioch 
^the  old  church  hymns,  that  spake  of  Christ  as 
the  incarnate  Word/  and  as  introducing  in  their 
stead  the  Psalms  of  David,  as  being  better  adapted 
to  the  promotion  of  his  heresy. 

"That  this  portion  of  history,  in  so  far  as  it  stands 
connected  with  the  subject  of  psalmody,  may  be 
set  in  its  true  light,  I  shall  present  to  the  reader 
an  extract  from  the  Epistle  of  the  council  of  An- 
tioch which  condemned  the  heresy  of  Paul,  toge- 
ther with  the  Latin  translation  of  the  learned  Va- 
lesius.  Our  information  with  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter is  derived  from  the  proceedings  of  the  Council. 
The  original  may  be  seen  in  Harduin's  Acta  Con- 
ciliorum,  Tom.  I,  or  in  the  History  of  Eusebius,Lib. 
8   cap.  30. 

ORIGINAL  OF  THE  EPISTLE. 

"^aT^fiov?    8s  tovs  fiiv  stj    Tfov   K.vptov    rifj-iov   Iricsfyw 

evyypajxfiata'  fij  eavtov  6f,  bv  fxsGr^  tTq  txKXr,SLa  tij 
fisya'kT]  t'O   7t<xox^   Vf^^P^y   -^aT^fi&idnv  ywatxaj  Ilapaa- 

TRANSLATION  OF  VALESIUS. 

"  Quinetiam  psalmos  in  honorem  Domini  Jesu 


108  THE  TRUE  PSALMODT. 

Christi  cani  solitos,  quasi  novellos,  et  a  recentioribus 
hominibus  composites,  abolevit.  Mulieres,  auteru 
magno  pascbae  die  in  media  ecclesia,  psalmos  quos- 
dam  canere  ad  sui  ipsius  laudem  instituit;  quod 
quidem  audientibus  horrorem  merito  incusserit/' 

The  scholar  who  examines  the  original,  will  see 
that  the  following  is  a  literal  translation.  Paul 
^put  a  stop  to  the  psalms  in  honour  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  as  though  (they  had  been)  modern, 
and  the  compositions  of  modern  men,  and  prepared 
women  on  the  great  day  of  Easter,  in  the  midst  of 
the  church,  to  sing  psalms  in  honour  of  himself/' 
It  will  be  seen  that  this  translation  differs  from 
that  which  has  commonly  been  given,  simply  in 
the  rendering  of  the  particle  'wj.  According  to  the 
more  common  interpretation  of  the  passage,  this 
particle  has  been  understood  in  the  sense  of  because. 
And  hence,  Paul  is  charged  with  setting  aside  the 
psalms  which  were  sung  in  the  church  of  Antioch, 
because  they  were  modern. 

"  But,  to  say  the  least,  it  is  not  necessary  that 
we  should  understand  the  particle  in  this  sense. 
According  to  very  common  usage,  it  is  employed 
to  convey  the  idea  of  comparison  or  similitude, 
rather  than  to  signify  the  reason  for  which  a  thing 
is  done.  Examples  almost  innumerable  of  the  fol- 
lowing kind,  occur  in  the  New  Testament.  'Be 
ye  wise  as  serpents  and  harmless  as  doves.'  Matt. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  109 

X.  16.  '  His  raiment  was  white  as  the  light.'  ^If 
ye  have  faith  as  a  grain  of  mustard  seed.^  Matt. 
Kvii.  2,  20.  ^  He  was  led  as  a  sheep  to  the  slaughter 
and  nice  a  lamb  dumb  before  his  shearer.'  Acts 
viii.  32.  And  in  Acts  xxvii.  30,  it  is  translated 
correctly,  '  as  though,^  as  I  believe  it  should  be  in 
the  passage  under  consideration.  In  all  such  in- 
stances it  will  be  seen,  that  this  particle  is  used  to 
convey  the  idea  of  comparison  between  objects 
which  in  some  respects  resemble  each  other. 

^'Understanding  the  particle  in  this  sense,  as 
employed  by  the  Council,  the  charge  preferred 
against  Paul  is,  that  he  took  as  much  liberty  with 
the  psalms,  which  the  church  in  Antioch  had  been 
accustomed  to  sing,  as  tliongli  they  had  been  the 
compositions  of  modern  men.  And  the  implied 
idea  is,  that  the  psalms  which  had  been  sung  in 
that  church,  were  not  modern,  nor  the  compositions 
of  modern  men,  but  were  the  songs  of  inspiration. 
And  the  daring  impiety  of  Paul  appeared  in  this, 
that  he  treated  the  divine  songs  which  celebrate 
the  praises  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  though  they  had 
been  the  compositions  of  uninspired  men. 

^'The  Council  then,  according  to  this  view,  do 
not  say  that  Paul  set  aside  the  psalms,  which  had. 
been  sung  at  Antioch,  because  they  were  the  com- 
positions of  modern  men,  but,  as  tJwvgli  they  had 
been  of  this  character.  This  view,  it  will  be  seen, 
10 


110  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

accords  witli  the  translation  of  Valesius  He  em- 
ploys  the  term  ' quasi j  as  though,  to  express  the 
sense  of  the  original. 

"  In  support  of  this  interpretation  of  the  Epistle 
of  the  Council  which  condemned  the  heresy  of 
Paul,  the  following  considerations  are  submitted 
to  the  judgment  of  the  unprejudiced  reader. 

1.  ^'The  sacred  songs,  which  the  church  in  An- 
tiocli  had  been  accustomed  to  sing,  and  the  use  of 
•which  Paul  of  Samosata  is  said  to  have  abolished; 
.are  termed  ^^^salms.^  Neander,  it  is  true,  denomi- 
>Bates  them  Hhe  church  hymns  which  had  been  in 
use  since  the  second  century;'  and  others  describe 
them  as  Hhe  old  church  hymns  that  spake  of 
Christ  as  the  incarnate  Word.'  But  the  Council 
speaks  of  them  as  the  'psalms.^  Now,  while  I 
freely  admit  that  this  term  does  not  conclusively 
establish  the  fact,  that  these  sacred  songs  were  the 
Psalms  of  David,  yet  it  furnishes  a  strong  pre- 
sumptive argument  in  favour  of  this  supposition. 
It  will,  I  suppose,  be  admitted  by  all  who  are  con- 
cerned in  this  controversy,  that  this  term  is  more 
commonly  used  to  designate  the  Psalms  of  inspira- 
tion, and  that  it  is  not  the  term  usually  employed 
In  reference  to  the  compositions  of  uninspired  men. 

'^But,  perhaps  it  will  bo  said  that  the  qualifying 
phrase,  psalms  ^  in  lionouv  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christy' 
-determines  that  they  were  songs  composed  by  men 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  Ill 

for  the  purpose  of  testifying  to  the  truth  of  our 
Lord's  divinity.  To  this,  I  reply,  that  such  a  con- 
clusion is  by  no  means  legitimate.  All  that  ap- 
pears from  the  language  of  the  Council  is,  that  the 
psalms  which  were  sung  in  Antioch  had  reference 
to  Christ,  and  were  in  honour  of  him.  Now,  if 
the  Psalms  of  David  do  bear  testimony  to  the  di- 
vine dignity  and  glory  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ; 
and  if  they  do  speak  of  him  as  being  a  divine  per- 
son, and  yet  as  appearing  in  our  world  in  human 
nature;  and  if  the  church,  in  the  days  of  Paul  of 
Samosata,  thus  understood  the  psalms,  then,  it  was 
strictly  proper  and  natural  for  these  advocates  of 
the  truth  of  our  Lord's  divinity,  to  speak  of  the  in- 
spired Psalms  as  being  sung  in  honour  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

''That  the  Psalms  do  celebrate  the  glory  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ;  that  they  do  exhibit  him  to  the 
Tiew  of  our  faith,  as  a  divine  person,  and  at  the 
same  time,  as  a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted 
with  grief,  it  cannot  be  necessary  that  I  should  un- 
dertake to  prove.  It  may  be  sufficient  to  refer  to 
the  numerous  instances  in  which  the  Psalms  are 
applied  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  by  the  writers  of  the 
New  Testament;  and  particularly  to  the  declara- 
tion of  our  Lord  himself,  in  which  he  says  to  his  dis- 
ciples, Luke  xxiv.  44,  'These  are  the  words  which 
I  spake  unto  you,  while  I  was  yet  with  you,  that 


112  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

all  things  must  be  fulfilled  which  were  written  in 
the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets,  and  in  the 
psalms,  concerning  me.' 

"And  while  it  is  perfectly  evident  that  Jesus 
Christ,  in  his  person  and  work;  in  his  divine  dig- 
nity, humiliation,  sufferings  and  death;  resurrec- 
tion and  ascension  into  heaven;  is  the  great  sub- 
ject of  the  Psalms,  it  is  not  less  evident  from  the 
writings  of  the  primitive  Christians,  that  the  Psalms 
were  thus  understood  by  them.  And  this  beiag 
the  fact,  it  was  perfectly  natural  for  them,  when 
speaking  of  these  divine  hymns,  to  represent  them 
as  being  sung  in  honour  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
In  confirmation  of  what  has  just  been  said  with 
regard  to  the  sense  in  which  the  Psalms  were  un- 
derstood by  the  primitive  Christians,  it  may  be 
sufficient  for  my  purpose  to  adduce  the  testimony 
of  Justin  Martyr,  who  wrote  about  the  middle  of 
the  second  century.  In  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho 
the  Jew,  in  which  the  particular  design  of  this 
learned  Father  is  to  prove  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
IMcssiah  promised  to  the  fathers,  the  Psalms  gene- 
rally are  referred  to,  as  furnishing  the  proof  of  his 
position.  For  example,  Justin  quotes  the  110th 
Psalm  as  applicable  to  the  Messiah.  And  then  ad- 
dressing Trypho,  he  says,  'I  am  not  ignorant  that 
you  Jews  explain  this  Psalm,  as  though  it  referred 
to  Hezekiah.'     But  he  adds,  'The  words  them- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  113 

selves  declare  that  it  relates  to  our  Jesus.'  After 
having  pointed  out  clearly  the  application  of  this 
Psalm  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Justin  addressed 
Trjpho  in  the  following  language:  ^That  I  may 
convince  you,  that  ye  Jews  do  not  understand  your 
own  Scriptures,  I  will  mention  another  Psalm  dic- 
tated to  David  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  you  con- 
tend was  spoken  with  reference  to  Solomon,  your 
king,  but  which,  in  reality,  was  uttered  concerning 
our  Christ.'  It  is  the  72d  Psalm  to  which  Justin 
here  refers;  and  after  repeating  the  entire  Psalm, 
he  remarks,  ^In  the  conclusion  of  this  Psalm  it  is 
written,  tlie  liymns  of  David  are  ended.'  And 
then  he  proceeds  to  show  that  the  things  spoken  in 
this  Psalm  cannot  apply  to  Solomon,  as  the  Jews 
were  wont  to  contend,  but  do  relate  to  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

''If,  then,  the  primitive  Christians  understood 
the  Psalms  as  referring  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  as  is 
abundantly  evident  from  the  writings  of  Justin 
Martyr  and  others,  it  was  strictly  appropriate  and 
natural,  when  speaking  of  them,  to  represent  them 
as  being  sung  in  honour  of  Him.  And  the  lan- 
guage applied  to  the  psalms  which  were  sung  in 
Antioch  in  the  days  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  very 
correctly  describes  the  Psalms  of  David,  as  they 
were  understood  in  the  primitive  ages  of  Chris- 
tianity. 

10* 


THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

^^If  it  were  necessary  to  adduce  further  proof  in 
confirmation  of  what  lias  been  said  in  relation  to 
the  sense  in  which  the  Psalms  were  understood  by 
the  primitive  Christians,  it  would  be  easy  to  multiply 
testimonies  from  the  writings  of  Irenajus,  of  Cle- 
ment of  Alexandria,  of  Athanasius,  of  Augustine, 
and  others  of  similar  character,  who  were  dis- 
tinguished advocates  of  the  truth.  Indeed,  these 
Fathers,  instead  of  experiencing  any  difficulty  in 
seeing  their  divine  Kedeemer  in  the  Psalms,  ap- 
pear, from  their  writings,  to  have  had  Him  pre- 
sented to  the  view  of  their  faith  every  where 
throughout  these  sacred  hymns. 

2.  "But  that  the  Psalms,  the  use  of  which  Paul 
abolished,  were  not  Uhe  compositions  of  modern 
men,'  and  could  not  have  been  set  aside  by  him 
under  the  pretext  that  they  were  'modern,'  will 
appear  from  this  consideration:  That  which  he  is 
said  to  have  introduced,  would  be  equally,  if  not  in 
a  greater  degree  obnoxious  to  the  same  objection. 
The  Psalms  which  he  removed  were  such  as  were 
in  honour  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;'  those  which 
he  appointed  to  be  sung  in  their  stead,  were  *in 
honour  of  himself.'  Now,  it  is  certain  that  none 
of  the  Psalms  of  David  would  be  adapted  to  the 
purpose  of  celebrating  the  praises  of  Paul  of  Sa- 
mosata.  And  it  is  no  less  certain  that  any  songs 
which  were  in  honour  of  this  enemy  of  the  truth 


HY3INS  UNWARRANTED.  115 

must  have  been  modern,  and  the  compositions  of 
an  uninspired  man.  And  though  Paul  was  a  he- 
retic, it  cannot  be  supposed  that  he  was  so  per- 
fectly devoid  of  common  sense,  as  to  urge  as  a  rea- 
son for  setting  aside  the  existing  psalmody  of  the 
church,  a  consideration  which  would  apply  with 
greater  force  to  the  exclusion  of  what  he  proposed 
to  introduce. 

"I  am  aware,  that  it  has  been  customary  to  sup- 
pose, that  Paul  introduced  the  Psalms  of  David  in 
the  room  of  those  which  he  displaced.  Neander 
says,  'he  pi'ohahJy  suffered  nothing  but  Psalms  to 
be  used."  Others  not  quite  so  modest,  assert  with- 
out any  qualification,  that  it  was  the  'pompous 
Unitarian,  Paul  of  Samosata,  who  first  set  the  ex- 
ample of  installing  the  Psalms  in  the  place  of  ex- 
clusive dignity.'  But  where,  I  ask,  is  the  au- 
thority for  such  conjectures,  or  for  such  unqualified 
afiarmations?  The  Epistle  of  the  Council,  by  whose 
authority  the  heresy  of  Paul  was  condemned,  says 
no  such  thing. 

''So  far  from  it,  the  express  declaration  of  the 
Council  is  irreconcilable  with  such  a  supposition. 
The  psalmody  which,  according  to  the  Council, 
Paul  introduced,  was  designed  to  celebrate  his  own 
praise;  was  in  honour  of  himself  And  this  could 
not  have  been  an  inspired  Psalmody,  but  must 
have  been  a  system  of  which  man  was  the  author^ 


116  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

^^The  conclusion,  then,  to  wMch  I  am  conducted, 
taking  the  language  of  the  Council  as  my  guide, 
and  not  suffering  myself  to  be  misled  by  the  mere 
conjectures  and  suppositions  of  men,  may  be  ex- 
hibited in  the  following  propositions: 

1.  ^'The  psalmody  employed  in  the  worship  of 
God  in  the  church  of  Antioch,  in  the  days  of  Paul 
of  Samosata,  was  a  divine  system.  The  psalms 
which  were  sung  at  that  time,  were  in  honour  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  And  this  character  belong-s 
appropriately  to  the  Psalms  of  David,  for  they  speak 
of  Christ  and  celebrate  his  glory. 

2.  "The  daring  impiety  of  the  heretic  Paul  was 
manifested  in  this,  that  he  took  as  much  liberty 
with  these  Psalms,  whose  author  is  the  Holy  Spirit, 
as  though  they  had  been  the  compositions  of  un- 
inspired men. 

3.  '"The  psalmody  which  he  introduced  was  de- 
signed to  celebrate  his  own  praise.  He  appointed 
women  in  the  church,  on  the  great  day  of  Easter, 
to  sing  songs  in  honour  of  himself^  the  hearing  of 
which  was  adapted  to  fill  the  pious  mind  with 
horror."  * 

II.  The  Mediaeval  hymnology.  From  the  period 
at  which  we  have  arrived  in  our  inquiries,  the 
subject  of  psalmody  in  the  time  of  the  Papal  apos- 

*  Pressly,  pp.  1G4-172. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  117 

tacy,  is,  of  course,  of  little  account  in  settling  any 
controversy.     As  early  as  the  age  of  Ambrose — 
who  wrote  many  hymns — and  indeed,  from   the 
third  century,  hymns,  Greek  and  Latin,  fast  mul- 
tiplied.    It  was   the  age  of  rapid  declension  in 
knowledge,  in  purity,  in  fidelity  to  the  word  of 
God.     Evils  of  every  kind  grew  apace;  soon  reach- 
ing their  culmination  in  the  rise  of  the  Antichrist. 
Passing  over  many  centuries,  we  come  to  the  mid- 
dle ages,  when  we  note  two  facts.     Theirs/',  which 
we  give  in  the  words  of  the  writer  of  the  "Voice  of 
the  Christian  Life."    Speaking  of  the  hymn-writers 
of  this  period,  he  says,  "With  one  exception,  all 
were  monks,  and  the  monotonous  routine  of  mo- 
nastic life  seems  in  their  histories  to  have  replaced 
the  endless  varieties  of  discipline  by  which  our 
heavenly  Father  trains  His  children."     "The  one 
exception  to  the  monastic  character  of  mediaeval 
hymn-writers  is  King  Robert  the  Second  of  France, 
author  of  the  touching  hymn,  in  which  all  his  gen- 
tle nature  seems  to  speak,  'Veni  Sancta  Spiritus/ 
and  King  Robert  had  certainly  more  of  the  monk 
than  of  the  king  about  him.     He  seems  to  have 
been,  if  ever  any  man  was,  made  for  the  cloister, 
and  being  forced  into  the  publicity  of  the  throne, 
he  threw  as  much  as  possible  of  the  colouring  of 
the  convent  over  his  home  and  his  court."  '^'     And 

*"  Voice"  &c.,  pp.  167,  1G8,  200. 


118  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

again,  "We  need  only  study  tlie  sacred  poetry  of 
tlie  middle  ages  to  understand  why  the  pLoforma- 
tion  was  needed.  One  painfully  expressed  fact 
meets  us  at  the  outset.  Of  Mone's  'Collection  of 
the  Latin  Hymns  of  the  Middle  Ages/  in  three 
volumeS;  one  is  filled  with  hymns  to  God  and  the 
angels;  one  with  hymns  to  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary; 
and  one  with  hymns  to  the  saints."  The  second 
fact  is,  that  the  Albigenses  and  Waldenses — God's 
faithful  witnesses  in  southern  France,  and  among 
the  Alps — w^ere  Psalm-singers.  We  quote  from 
Dr.  M'Master:  "In  the  middle  ages,  the  ages  too 
of  moral  gloom  and  terrible  superstition,  the  purest 
section  of  the  church  of  God  was  found  in  the  val- 
leys of  Piedmont.  Among  the  Waldenses  were 
found  the  simplicity  of  the  apostolic  order,  and  the 
purity  of  evangelical  worship.  They  sung,  ''mid 
Alpine  cliffs,'  the  Psalms  of  Scripture.  And  long 
before  the  Reformation  dawned  on  Europe,  they 
sung  tbem  in  metre.  'The  Albigenses,  in  1210, 
were  metre  psalm-singers.'  In  those  ages  when 
darkness  covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness  all 
other  people,  the  Vaudois,  as  Thuanus,  who  was 
their  enemy,  relates,  'could  all  read  and  write. 
They  were  acquainted  with  French  so  far  as  was 
needful  for  understanding  the  Bible,  and  the  sing- 
ing of  Psalms.'  It  was  required  of  those  who 
were  to  be  ordained  to  the  ministry   along  with 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  119 

other  scriptures,  to  commit  to  memory  ^  the  writings 
of  David.'  Numbers  of  those,  who,  under  the 
persecution  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  A.  D.  168G, 
sought  a  refuge  in  the  Swiss  cantons,  three  years 
after,  returned  under  their  pastor,  Arnaud,  who 
was  also  their  martial  chief.  Having  overcome 
their  enemies,  and  regained  their  native  valleys, 
^at  the  church  of  Guigon  they  engaged  in  worship, 
sang  the  74th  Psalm,  and  their  colonel  and  pastor, 
Arnaud,  preached  on  the  129th  Psalm. ^  The 
morning-star  of  the  Reformation  used  them.  Wide- 
life  is  blamed  by  some  for  singing  metre  psalms. 
JoJui  Huss,  in  the  fifteenth,  as  Wickliffe  had  done 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  sung  the  psalms  in 
verse.  ^"^' 

These  are  very  significant  facts.  Hymns  made 
by  monks  or  monkish  men;  and  by  none  other  so 
far  as  the  record  has  reached  the  intelligent  author 
of  the  "Voice,"  &c.,  while  the  only  witnesses  of 
Christ,  in  their  purity  and  obscurity,  adhered  to 
the  singing  of  Psalms.  The  lesson  is  an  instruc- 
tive one.     We  will  not  forget  it. 

III.  The  Reformed  period.  The  Reformation 
in  Germany,  led  by  Luther,  did  not  reject  the  use 
of  hymns,  although  it  repudiated  en  masse,  Me- 
diaeval hymns.     This  same  reformation,  however, 

*  M'Master,  p.  71. 


120  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

retained  not  a  few  of  the  outward  appliances  of 
the  corrupt  system  which  had  succeeded  itj  and 
in  one  instance,  at  leagt,  approached  too  nearly  the 
worst  heresy  of  the  Papal  system.*  It  was  far 
otherwise  with  the  Reformation  in  the  Western 
Church:  sometimes  styled  the  Zuinglian  or  Swiss 
Reformation,  with  which  affiliated  the  same  great 
movement,  in  France,  Holland,  and  Britain;  and 
also  in  some  of  the  German  states  themselves.  We 
quote  again  from  the  "Voice  of  the  Christian 
Life,''  &c.  "The  Reformed  Churches  of  France 
and  French  Switzerland  seem  to  have  had  no  li- 
terature corresponding  to  the  hymns  of  Protestant 
Germany.  Did  the  peculiar  form  which  the  Re- 
formation took  in  France,  then,  tend  to  quench 
the  spirit  of  sacred  poetry,  or  what  other  causes 
brought  about  this  result?  When  we  remembei 
that  the  same  absence  of  an  evangelical  national 
hymn  literature,  springing  up  spontaneously  as  a 
national  growth  of  the  Reformation,  which  charac- 
terizes the  Reformed  Churches  of  France  and 
French  Switzerland,  exists  also  in  the  sister  Church 
of  Scotland,  it  is  impossible  not  to  connect  this 
fact  with  the  similar  form  which  the  Reformation 
took  in  all  these  lands.     None  of  the  strictly  Gal- 

•^  We  mean  the  Doctrine  of  Consubstantiation  held  bj 
Luther. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  121 

vimstic  communities  have  a  7ii/mn-hooIc  dating  hach 
to  the  Reformation.  It  cannot  surely  be  their  doc- 
trine which  caused  this;  many  of  the  best  known 
and  most  deeply  treasured  of  the  more  modern 
hymns  of  Germany  and  England  have  been  written 
by  those  who  receive  the  doctrines  known  as  Cal- 
vinistic.  Nor  can  it  proceed  from  any  peculiarity 
of  race,  or  deficiency  in  popular  love  of  music  and 
song.  French  and  Scotch  national  character  are  too 
dissimilar  to  explain  the  resemblance;  whilst  France 
has  many  national  melodies  and  songs,  and  Scot- 
land is  peculiarly  rich  in  both.  Is  not  the  cause 
tlien  simply  the  common  ideal  of  external  eccle- 
siastical forms  which  pervaded  all  the  Churches 
reformed  on  the  Genevan  type?  The  intervening 
chapters  of  Church  history  are,  as  it  were,  folded 
up,  as  too  blotted  and  marred  for  truth  to  be  read 
to  profit  in  them;  and,  next  to  the  first  chapter  in 
the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  was  to  stand,  as  the  se- 
cond chapter,  the  history  of  the  Reformed  Churches. 
Words  were  to  resume  their  original  Bible  mean- 
ing; nothing  was  to  he  received  that  coidd  not  he 
traced  hack  to  the  Divine  hand.  Ecclesiastical 
order  was  to  be  such  as  St.  Paul  had  established  or 
had  found  established;  clearly  to  be  traced,  it  was 
believed,  in  the  Acts  and  Apostolical  Epistles. 
Thus  the  Book  of  Psalms  became  the  hymn-book 
of  the  Reformed  Churches,  adapted  to  grave  and 
11 


122  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

solemn  music,  in  metrical  translations  whose  one 
aim  and  glory  was  to  render  into  measure  which 
could  be  sung  the  very  words  of  the  old  Hebrew 
Psalms.""^ 

Passing  to  England,  this  author  proceeds,  "The 
Church  of  England  is,  in  form,  linked  to  the  Me- 
diseval  Church  by  ties  far  stronger  and  more  nu- 
merous than  the  Lutheran  Churches  of  Germany. 
The  thinking  people  of  England  were,  after  the 
Marian  exiles  returned  from  the  Continent,  more 
strongly  attracted  to  the  Protestantism  of  Switzer- 
land and  Scotland  than  to  that  of  Germany.  Thus, 
between  Anglicanism  and  Puritanism,  it  happened 
that,  until  the  last  century,  we  cannot  be  said  to 
have  had  any  national,  that  is,  airy  y)eople&  Jiymn- 
hooh  at  all.  Probably  no  person  or  community 
ever  felt  any  enthusiasm  either  for  Stcrnhold  and 
Hopkins,  or  Tate  and  Brady;  and  although  some 
stray  hymns  have  crept  into  our  modern  hymn- 
books  from  earlier  days,  until  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury we  had  no  People's  Hymn-Book;  none,  that 
is,  that  was  placed  on  cottage  tables  beside  the  Bi- 
ble, and  sung  when  Christians  met,  and  chanted 
beside  the  grave.  The  Wesleys  seem  to  have  been 
the  first  who  gave  a  People's  Hymn-book  to  Eng- 
land; unless  that  of  Dr.  Watts  may  be  called  so, 

*  ''Voice,"  &c.,  262-254. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  123 

published  about  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth 
centu)'!/.  Not,  indeed,  that  England  was  silent 
those  two  hundred  years,  or  that  the  sacred  chain 
of  holy  song  was  ever  altogether  broken  in  our 
country.  We  had  our  'Te  Deum'  and  Olagni- 
ficat/  and  the  English  Psalms  in  the  music  of  their 
own  grand  and  touching  prose — a  melody  as  much 
deeper  to  our  ears  than  any  metrical  manufiicture 
of  the  same,  as  the  morning  song  of  a  thrush  is, 
than  the  notes  of  a  caged  bird  that  has  been  pain- 
fully taught  to  sing  two  or  three  tunes.  These 
were  said  in  village  church  and  quiet  home,  making 
rich  melody  in  the  heart,  and  pealed  through  the 
old  cathedrals  to  choral  chant,  in  a  language  'un- 
derstanded  of  all  the  people.'  The  Prayer-book, 
with  all  its  musical  flow  of  choice  words,  floating 
down  on  its  clear  stream  of  pure  English  the  song 
and  prayer  of  the  true  Church  of  all  ages,  and  the 
English  Psalter, — this  was  the  hymn-book  of  half 
our  people;  while  in  many  a  Puritan  congregation 
the  heroic  purposes  of  the  heart,  the  individuality 
of  Puritan  religion,  which  made  every  hymn  sung 
as  by  each  worshipper  alone  'to  God,'  must  have 
breathed  poetry  into  any  verses,  and  fused  them, 
by  inward  fire,  into  a  music  no  external  polish 
could  ever  give.  With  the  eighteenth  century, 
however,  the  history  of  English  Hymn-books  must 


124  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

begin."*  And  of  Scotland  we  need  not  speak. 
Her  Reformers  neither  made  hjmns  nor  sung  them. 
Let  us  now  sum  up  the  history  of  Psalmody, 
and  thus  turn  the  objector's  argument  against  him- 
self. 1.  The  "Psalms^  hymns  and  spiritual  songs" 
of  the  Bible  passed  over  to  the  New  Testament 
Church.  2.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  historical 
evidence  that  any  other  hymns  were  sung  in  apos- 
tolic times  in  the  worship  of  God.  3.  Some  he- 
retics did  at  an  early  period  make  and  use  hymns; 
but  these  earliest  of  human  composures  have  disap- 
peared, leaving  behind  them  only  the  fact  that  they 
once  existed;  or,  at  most,  a  few  waifs  which  can- 
not be  recognised  or  allotted  to  time  and  space.  4. 
The  first  known  orthodox  hymn-writer  lived  at  the 
close  of  the  second  century,  and  there  is  no  evi- 
dence that  the  single  hymn  which  he  composed  was 
ever  sung  in  God's  worship.  5.  Opposition  was 
made  at  a  later  period  to  the  introduction  of  hu- 
man compositions,  while  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible 
were  held  in  the  highest  estimation,  and  were  sung 
both  in  the  East  and  in  the  West.  6.  During  the 
middle  ages,  the  Waldenses  sang  the  Psalms: 
hymns  were  made  by  monks  and  sung  in  the  Po- 
pish communion.  7.  At  the  Reformation  the 
Psalms  exclusively  were  used  in  worship  in  the 

^  "Voice,"  &c.,  255,  256,  259. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  125 

••''strictly  Calvinistic  cturclies.''  The  Lutheran 
churches,  which  retained  some  of  the  trappings  of 
Popery,  retaining  also  the  use  of  hymns.  8.  The 
practice  of  Calvinistic  churches  was  based  upon 
the  principle,  that  the  Bible  is  the  only  rule  in 
worship.  9.  The  Church  of  England  was  then 
almost  exclusively  a  Psalm-singing  church.  10. 
No  hymn  book  was  found  in  the  Western  Re- 
formed Churches  until  something  more  than  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Hence,  11.  The  Scripture  Psalms  were 
ever  sung  in  God's  worship  in  the  purest  days  and 
parts  of  the  Church — in  the  apostles'  days,  among 
the  Waldenses,  and  in  the  most  scriptural  of  the 
Reformed  Churches. 

Whatever  assistance  the  cause  of  hymn-singing 
may  derive  from  the  occasional  use  of  hymns  in 
times,  either  ancient  or  modern,  when  religion  had 
begun  to  decline,  or  from  their  use  among  the  fol- 
lowers of  Anti-christ,  we  cheerfully  allow  it;  but 
we  do  claim,  that  in  using  exclusively  the  Bible 
Psalms,  we  follow  the  "  footsteps  of  the  flock.'' 

III.  The  advocates  of  these  other  songs  and 
hymns  argue  from  analogy:  we  may  compose  and 
offer  our  own  prayers,  why  not  hymns  also?  Dr. 
Pressly  thus  satisfactorily  disposes  of  this  argu- 
ment. '' However  plausible  this  argument  may 
appear  at  first  view,  a  little  examination  may  satisfy 
the  honest  inquirer  after  truth,  that  it  is  entirely 
11* 


126  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

fallacious.  The  things  which  are  compared,  are 
dissimilar,  and  consequently  the  reasoning  is  in- 
conclusive. Prayer  and  praise  agree  in  one  par- 
ticular, and  that  is,  they  are  both  ordinances  of  re- 
ligious worship.  But  in  almost  every  thing  else, 
they  differ.  And,  therefore,  it  is  a  pure  assump- 
tion to  say,  that  because  we  may  employ  our  own 
language  in  prayer,  therefore  it  is  proper  to  com- 
pose in  our  own  language  our  songs  of  praise  to 
God.  Not  only  are  these  religious  exercises  dif- 
ferent in  their  nature,  but,  that  God  himself  re- 
gards them  in  a  different  light,  is  evident  from  the 
fact  that  he  has  made  provision  for  his  church  in 
the  one  case,  which  he  has  not  in  the  other.  But 
that  the  reader  may  see  more  satisfac'orily  the  dif- 
ference between  these  divine  ordinal .(^es,  and  the 
absolute  necessity  for  provision  in  the  one  case, 
which  is  not  necessary  in  the  other;  and  conse- 
quently the  fallacy  of  the  conclusion  which  is  drawn 
by  those  who  reason  from  the  one  ordinance  to 
the  other;  let  us  notice  a  little  more  in  detail, 
some  particulars  in  which  they  differ. 

"1.  In  prayer,  we  come  to  God  to  ask  for  those 
things  which  we  need;  but  in  praise,  we  ascribe  to 
him  the  glory  which  is  due  unto  his  name.  As 
our  situation  and  circumstances  are  ever  varying, 
our  wants  are  very  different  at  one  time,  from  what 
they  are  at  another.     Our  petitions  must  conse- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  127 

quontly  be  framed  in  accordance  with  our  wants. 
But  God  is  unchangeable,  and  his  praise  is  alwajs 
the  same.  That  glory  which  is  proper  to  be  as- 
cribed to  his  name  at  one  time,  will  always  be  pro- 
per. No  matter  what  may  be  our  situation; 
whether  we  may  be  in  prosperity  or  in  adversity; 
whether  we  may  be  the  subjects  of  joy  or  of  sor- 
row, still  God  is  to  be  praised  for  what  he  is  in 
himself,  and  for  the  exhibitions  of  his  glory  which 
he  has  made  in  the  works  of  creation,  of  provi- 
dence, and  of  redemption.  And  what  ascriptions 
of  glory  are  due  to  him,  the  Spirit  of  God  has  de- 
clared in  those  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  songs, 
which  are  the  productions  of  his  infinite  wisdom. 
^'2.  In  social  prayer,  one  leads  in  the  exercise, 
while  others  follow  and  unite  with  him  in  present- 
ing their  supplications  before  the  throne  of  grace; 
but,  in  praise,  all  simultaneously  lift  up  their  voices 
together  in  extolling  the  name  of  God.  And  hence 
it  results,  that  in  the  exercise  of  praise,  a  written 
form  is  absolutely  necessary,  while  in  prayer,  such 
form  is  unnecessary.  And  hence,  as  our  songs  of 
praise  assume  a  character  of  permanency,  which 
does  not  belong  to  our  prayers,  we  can  see  an  im- 
portant and  obvious  reason,  why  provision  should 
be  made  for  our  assistance  in  the  performance  of 
the  one  duty,  which  was  not  considered  necessary 
in  the  other.  And  in  connexion  with  this  con- 
sideration, I  remark, — 


128  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

^'3.  That  since,  in  singing  Grod's  praise,  a  written 
form  is  necessary,  there  is  provided  for  the  churchy 
in  the  word  of  God,  a  book  of  Psalms,  while  there 
is  no  book  of  Prayers.  This  is  a  fact  which  de- 
serves special  attention.  The  infinitely  wise  God, 
does  nothing  in  vain,  and  never  works  without  de- 
sign. From  every  part  of  the  word  of  God  we 
learn  that  it  is  our  duty,  both  to  pray  to  him  and 
to  sing  praises  to  his  name.  And  while  tlie  duty 
in  both  cases  is  perfectly  plain,  it  is  no  less  evident, 
that  God  has  made  provision  with  regard  to  the 
performance  of  the  one  duty,  which  he  has  not 
thought  proper  to  make  with  reference  to  the  other. 
Not  only  are  we  commanded  to  sing  psalms,  but  a 
book  of  Psalms  which  contains  the  songs  of  the 
Spirit  of  purity,  of  love,  and  of  grace,  is  provided 
for  our  use.  Men  may  say,  that  '  as  we  use  our 
own  language  in  prayer,  so  may  we  in  praise;'  but 
the  fact  that  God  has  himself  provided  for  us  a 
book  of  Psalms,  while  he  has  given  us  no  book  of 
Prayers,  rebukes  the  unwari'anted  assertion.  And 
from  the  provision  already  made  for  us  by  Him 
who  knows  the  glory  due  to  himself,  there  is  no 
need  for  us  to  prepare  songs  of  praise,  unless  we 
are  disposed  to  adopt  the  presumptuous  principle, 
that  we  are  more  competent  to  decide  what  is  pro- 
per to  be  employed  in  praising  God,  than  he  him- 
Belf  who  is  the  object  of  praise.     But  in  relation 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  129 

to  prayer,  the  case  is  entirely  different.  "While  it 
is  plainly  our  duty  to  pray,  He  with  whom  is  the 
residue  of  the  Spirit,  has  not  thought  proper  to 
provide  for  us  a  collection  of  prayers.  And  con- 
sequently, in  complying  with  the  divine  command, 
— 'In  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with 
thanksgiving,  let  your  requests  be  made  known  un- 
to God/ — we  must,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
express  our  requests  in  our  own  language.  The 
reader  can,  therefore,  have  no  difl&culty  in  per- 
ceiving that  the  cases  are  dissimilar,  and  conse- 
quently, that  it  is  by  no  means  a  legitimate  conclu- 
sion, that,  as  we  may  use  our  own  language  in 
prayer,  so  may  we  in  praise.  But  still  further, — 
"4.  Our  Lord  taught  his  disciples  to  pray,  and 
gave  them  an  admirable  form  of  prayer,  with  re- 
ference to  which  he  has  said,  'After  this  manner 
pray  ye.'  But  he  gave  his  disciples  no  divine 
song,  as  a  model  of  praise,  according  to  which  they 
were  to  compose  their  songs,  with  a  direction,  as 
in  the  case  of  prayer,  to  sing  after  this  manner. 
And  why,  with  reverence  I  would  ask,  did  not  the 
great  Prophet  of  the  church,  furnish  in  the  New 
Testament  a  book  of  sacred  hymns,  or  direct  some 
one  of  his  Apostles  to  perform  this  service?  The 
only  rational  answer  which  can  be  given  to  this 
inquiry,  is,  that  he  did  not  consider  it  necessary. 
He  had  already  raised  up  a  sweet  Psalmist  of  Is- 


130  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

rael,  wliom  he  had  qualified  for  the  work,  and  by 
whom  he  had  provided  for  his  church,  such  a  col- 
lection of  psalms,  and  hymns,  and  songs,  as  to  his 
infinite  wisdom  and  goodness  seemed  proper. 

^^And  with  regard  to  the  difference  between 
these  two  religious  duties,  I  observe  once  more, — 

^•5.  That  as  provision  has  been  made  in  the  case 
of  praise,  which  has  not  been  made  with  regard  to 
prayer,  so  there  is  a  promise  of  divine  help  in  the 
performance  of  the  duty  of  prayer,  which  is  not 
given  in  relation  to  praise.  It  is  graciously  pro- 
mised by  Him  who  is  the  hearer  of  prayer, — ^I 
will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  Spirit  of  grace  and 
of  supplications.'  (Zech.  xii.  10.)  And  as  the 
Christian  needs  assistance  in  performing  the  duty 
of  prayer,  for  which  provision  has  not  yet  been 
made,  we  find  it  written, — ^The  Spirit  also  helpeth 
our  infirmities;  for  we  know  not  what  we  should 
pray  for  as  we  ought;  but  the  Spirit  itself  maketh 
intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be 
uttered.'  (Rom.  viii.  26.)  Here  then,  we  see  that 
the  God  of  grace,  who  knows  what  the  Christian 
needs,  has  graciously  promised  divine  assistance  to 
direct  us  in  the  expression  of  our  requests  in 
prayer:  'We  know  not  what  to  pray  for  as  we 
ought;  but  the  Spirit  helpeth  our  infirmities.'  We 
have  no  book  of  Prayers,  in  the  use  of  which  we 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  131 

may  make  our  requests  known  unto  God;  but  we 
have  the  promise  of  the  aid  of  the  .spirit  of  grace 
and  of  supplications,  to  help  our  infirmities,  and  to 
instruct  us  how  to  pray.  But  there  is  no  promise 
in  all  the  New  Testament,  of  the  aid  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  as  tlic  Spirit  of  psalmody,  to  aid  us  in  pre- 
parimj  our  songs  of  prai»e.  He,  in  whom  are  hid 
all  the  treasures  of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  did  not 
think  proper  to  raise  up,  r.nder  the  gospel  dispen- 
sation, a  sweet  Psalmist  0/  Israel,  to  provide  for 
the  church  a  system  of  songs,  as  he  had  formerly 
done;  nor  did  he  commission  any  of  his  Apostles  to 
perform  this  service;  nor  did  he  promise  to  send 
his  Spirit  iu  any  subsequent  age,  to  qualify  any 
man  for  the  execution  of  a  work  of  such  import- 
ance. And  why  not?  The  only  satisfactory  answer 
which  can  be  given,  is  that  such  a  service  was 
unnecessray,  since  it  had  already  been  performed. 
'^It  is  then  quite  manifest,  not  only,  that  prayer 
and  praise  are  religious  duties,  which  are  different 
in  their  nature,  but  that  God  himself  regards  them 
as  so  different,  that  in  his  infinite  wisdom  he  has 
thought  proper  to  make  that  provision  for  the  use 
of  his  church  in  the  one  case,  which  he  has  not  in 
the  other.  It  is  no  valid  objection  to  our  reason- 
ing to  say,  that  some  of  the  psalms  are  termed 
prayers;  that  the  language  of  prayer  is  employed 
throughout  the  psalms;  and  that  in  prayer  we  as- 


132  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

cribe  praise  to  God.  All  this  may  be  true.  In 
these  particulars  and  in  others  which  might  be 
mentioned,  there  may  be  a  coincidence  between 
these  two  exercises  of  religious  worship.  Eut  still, 
it  remains  true,  that  prayer  and  praise  are  not  only 
two  different  ordinances,  but  that  God  regards  theni 
as  different;  and  has  made  provision  to  aid  us  in 
the  performance  of  the  duty  of  praise,  which  he 
has  not  furnished  for  our  assistance  in  prayer. 
And  consequently,  to  say,  that  since  it  is  proper  in 
prayer  to  use  our  own  language,  therefore  it  is 
right  to  do  the  same  in  singing  God's  praise,  is  to 
reason  after  the  manner  of  men,  but  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  wisdom  of  God.^"^" 

IV.  The  right  to  make  and  use  "hymns"  is 
claimed  to  be  a  part  of  our  Christian  liberty:  and, 
in  this  connexion  we  are  reminded  of  the  character 
of  the  New  Testament  dispensation  as  one  of  greater 
light,  freeness  and  enlargement,  than  the  old:  and, 
perhaps,  it  may  be  suggested,  likewise,  that  such 
as  decline  to  use  "hymns"  are  rather  narrow- 
minded  and  illiberal. 

But,  what  is  the  Christian  liberty  of  the  Xew 
Testament  dispensation  ?  Most  certainly  it  is  not 
a  liberty  to  form  our  doctrinal  belief,  or  rules  of 
life,  or  religious  observances,  irrespective  of  the 

*  Pressly  on  Psalmody,  pp.  120-125. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  133 

Word  and  authority  of  Christ.     It  consists  in  part 
— tlie  part  which  alone  can  have  any  relation  to 
the   issue  before  us — in   our  liberation  from  the 
bondage  of  the  Mosaic  ritual  and  ceremonial  law. 
This  was  a  burdensome  service.     But  was  it  ever 
a  '' bondage"  to  sing  the  Psalms  of  inspiration? 
to  hold  fellowship  with  the  Most  High  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  praise,  in  the  very  thoughts  and  expres- 
sions which  He  himself  had  furnished?     It  never 
was — none  will    dare   to   say  so — and   it   is  not 
now.     This  argument  is  a  most  decided  example 
of  that  kind  of  fallacious  reasoning  which  is  styled 
"begging  the  question."     The  issue  before  us  is, 
'^Have  we  liberty  to  make  and  sing  in  the  worship 
of  God,  songs  other  than   those   of  the  Bible?" 
Yes — say  these  reason ers — we  have  this  liberty, — 
because — we  have  this  liberty!     We  answer,  this 
is  the  very  issue  on  which  we  are  brought  into  con- 
flict; and  you  do  not  prove  your  position  by  assert- 
ing it,  however  often   and  confidently. 

V.  It  is  said  that  songs  composed  by  uninspired 
men,  may  be  read  with  edification,  and  even  uttered 
in  musical,  instead  of  mere  speaking  tones,  by  an  in- 
dividual, and  why  not  use  them  in  religious  worship  ? 
We  are  not  disposed  to  deny  the  premises  here  af- 
firmed. We  do  not  go  so  far  as  to  maintain  that 
the  human  voice  may  not  be  used  in  singing,  as  well 
as  in  reading,  other  songs  than  those  in  which  God 
12 


134  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

is  formally  worshipped.  But  there  must  be,  and 
iS;  a  wide  difference  between  the  singing  of  songs 
for  recreation,  or  even  as  an  expression  of  our  own 
emotions  whether  sad  or  joyful,  and  the  employ- 
ment of  songs  in  the  solemn  and  devout,  prescribed 
worship  of  God.  There  is  an  ordinance  of  praise, 
which  this  reasoning  leaves  entirely  out  of  view. 
Any  one  who  is  capable  may  write  a  religious  essay. 
He  may  read  it  in  the  hearing  of  others.  Any 
one  may  speak  on  religious  topics  in  social  inter- 
course. But  there  is  still  the  ordinance  of  preach- 
ing, and  the  institution  of  the  ministry,  established 
and  guarded  by  the  will  of  Christ.  Nor  is  every 
utterance  of  gospel  truth  by  a  Christian  minister, 
the  formal  preaching  of  the  Word.  So,  there  is 
an  institution  of  government  and  discipline  in  the 
house  of  God;  and  yet,  it  is  competent  to  every 
Christian  to  admonish  and  warn  his  erring  brother. 
Again,  every  act  that  we  perform  in  our  daily  avo- 
cations should  be  done  to  the  ^^glory  of  God;"  and 
yet  there  are  exercises  properly  and  formally  devo- 
tional. Every  day  should  the  Christian  live  unto 
Christ,  yet  is  there  one  day  in  seven  set  apart, 
specially,  for  religious  worship.  As  we  peruse 
the  Bible,  and  so  in  reading  Christian  biography, 
we  may  read  many  prayers,  and  be  instructed  and 
quickened  by  them,  but  there  is  still  an  ordinance 
of  prayer.     Any  one  may,  under  certain  circuiu- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  135 

stances,  put  into  another's  hand^  a  morsel  of  bread 
and  a  cup  of  wine,  but  there  is,  notwithstanding, 
the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  We  may 
make  pictures — these  may  represent  scenes  of  deep 
religious  interest, — the  sufferings  of  the  martyrs, 
the  trials  of  the  persecuted,  or  other  events  calcu- 
lated to  stir  up  devout  recollections,  or  grateful 
emotions:  we  may  have  them  in  our  dwellings,  we 
may  look  upon  them;  and  be  edified  as  we  do  so. 

Now,  would  we  listen  to  one  who  would  attempt 
to  demonstrate  that  there  is  no  ministry,  no  church 
discipline,  no  holyday,  no  sacrament  of  the  sup- 
per, no  formal  prayer,  by  insisting  upon  the  right, 
or  the  duty  of  private  Christians  to  give  utterance 
to  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  to  rebuke  the  sinner, 
to  lead  a  holy  life,  to  ^'to  do  all  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,''  to  feed  the  hungry  and  minister  to 
the  sick,  to  read  the  prayers  offered  by  the  saints 
in  their  day?  Or,  from  the  lawful  use  of  paint- 
ings in  our  dwellings,  will  any  one  of  us,  argue 
— we  know  who  do  thus  argue — that  these,  and 
similar  appliances,  may  be  introduced  into  our 
places  of  worship  as  "aids  to  devotion?''  So,  in 
answer  to  this  argument,  we  say,  there  is  an  ordi- 
nance of  praise,  and  when  we  inquire  of  the  word 
of  God,  how  this  ordinance  is  to  be  observed,  we 
find  not  only  that  it  is  a  scripture  ordinance,  but  also 
that  provision  has  been  made  for  its  observance — 


136  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

and,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  for  wise  reasons — in 
a  Book  of  Psalms,  itself  sufficient  as  a  manual  of 
praise.  We  must  not  confound,  as  this  argument 
does  the  reading,*  or  even  the  singing  of  songs, 
however  good,  and  the  formal  celebration  in  acts 
of  worship,  of  God's  high  praises. 

But  what  is  the  ordinance  of  praise?  Does  it 
consist  merely  in  the  use  of  musical  instead  of  read- 
ing tones  ?  And  can  there  be  so  much  difference 
between  these  two  modes  of  uttering  the  same  sen- 
timents, as  that  the  one  is  allowable,  and  the 
other  not?  This  is  a  very  subtle  form  of  the  ge- 
neral argument  which  we  have  just  considered. 
And  we  remark,  (1.)  That  the  same  kind  of  reason- 
ing would  be  equally  available,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  confound  other  religious  acts  and  ordinances  with 
the  doings  of  every  day,  or  of  the  Christian  life. 
(2.)  It  is  not  the  mere  use  of  singing  tones,  but 
the  design  of  the  act,  and  its  circumstances,  which 
we  are  here  to  consider,  just  as  we  do  in  reference 
to  baptism,  the  Lord's  supper,  and  laying  on  of 
hands  in  the  act  of  ordination.  Are  we  engaged 
in  celebrating  God's  praise  in  song,  according  to 
his  appointment,  and  in  circumstances  to  which 
that  appointment  relates?     If  so,  we  must   have 

*  Erskine's  Gospel  Sonnets  are  excellent  reading:  but 
were  never  meant  for  "hymns,"  or  used  in  worship. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  137 

regard  to  something  more  than  the  tones  merely 
in  which  wc  utter  our  praises.     Wc  must  take 
with  us  the  entire  institution  of  praise  as  a  part  of 
the  prescribed  order  of  worship.     Hence,  (3.)  It 
is  most  important  to  remember  that  we  have  a 
book,  provided  by  Him  whose  name  we  magnify 
in  song,  and  appointed  for  this  very  end;  and  no 
command  or  promise,  regarding  another.      Had 
we  a  book  of  prayers  in  the  scriptures — were  we 
commanded  to  use  this — were  there  no  precept  en- 
joining the  use  of  any  prayers  not  contained  in 
this   book — were   there   no   promises  of  help  in 
making  prayers,   the   whole  ordinance  of  prayer 
would  be  comprehended  within  this  inspired  li- 
turgy with  the  appropriate  and  prescribed  restric- 
tions, seasons,  &c.     We  have  no  such  prayer  book; 
but  we  have  a  hymn — or  Psalm  book, — similar  in 
position,  in  reference  to  the  ordinance  of  praise,  as 
our  supposed  inspired  prayer  book  to  that  of  prayer. 
Hence,  we  ought  to  infer,  that  in  singing  praises^ 
this  alone  is  to  be  used;  whatever  other  uses  we 
may  lawfully  make  of  song.     (4.)  If  there  were 
no   difference   between  reading  and   sin^i^ins;    we 
might  omit  the  singing  entirely,  and  only  read 
Psalms  and  hymns!  would  this  be  the  ordinance 
of  praise?     (5.)  God  has  linked  singing  of  Psalms 
to  the  ordinance  of  praise,  and  we  should  not  cavil 
about  it,  as  if  there  were  no  material  difference. 
12* 


138  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

(6.)  While  we  do  not  undertake  to  assign  the  rea- 
sons for  this  divine  ordinance,  we  may  be  at  liberty 
to  say,  that  song  is  a  powerful  medium  of  propa- 
gating sympathy,  as  well  as  of  awakening  it;  and, 
again,  that  there  are  proofs  abundant,  arising  chiefly 
from  the  peculiar  power  of  songs  over  the  faith,  &c., 
of  those  that  use  them  in  their  devotions,  that  it 
was  not  unbecoming  the  divine  wisdom  to  make 
this  restriction. 

VI.  It  has  been  said,  that  inasmuch  as  the  mi- 
nister of  Christ  uses  his  own  words  in  his  public 
ministry,  and  may  even  quote  a  hymn,  we  may  do  so 
likewise,  in  singing  praise:  and  this,  for  the  reason, 
that  preaching  is  a  part  of  public  worship.  To 
this,  it  is  enough  in  this  place,  to  reply,  that  there 
is  a  vast  difference  between  addresses  made  to  God 
in  song,  and  an  address  made  to  an  assembled  con- 
gregation; the  preacher  does  not  preach  to  the 
Most  High — he  speaks  to  the  people  before  him. 
He  who  would  confound  these  under  the  general 
name  of  '^worship"  has  yet  to  learn  the  proper  na- 
ture of  each  part  of  our  social  religious  exercises. 

VII.  An  argument  is  taken  from  the  i-uct,  that 
men  have  now  the  '^gift  of  song/'  implying,  it  is 
said,  that  they  may  use  it  in  providing  songs  for 
the  church's  use  in  her  devotions.  To  this  wc  re- 
ply, (I.)  The  gift  of  song  existed  under  the  Old 
Testament,  and  yet  none,   unless  such  as  were 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  139 

specially  i.)spircd  of  God,  were  employed  in  com- 
posing songs  for  purposes  of  devotion.  (2.)  We 
hear  nothing  of  any  poet  in  the  apostolic  Church 
undertaking  to  make  hymns;  not  one  hymn  can  be 
traced  to  the  days  of  the  apostles — and  yet  there 
were  some,  no  doubt,  who  could  have  written  ia 
metre.  Paul  could,  we  are  quite  confident,  yet  we 
have  no  hint  of  any  attempt  on  his  part,  to  make  a 
hymn-book.  (3.)  If  there  be  any  validity  in  this 
argument,  it  takes  a  wide  sweep.  If  the  possession 
of  the  gift  confers  the  right  to  use  it  in  making  songs 
for  the  church,  who  can  refuse  to  adopt  and  sing 
any  given  hymn:  the  poet  can  claim  a  divine  sanc- 
tion— authority  direct  from  Heaven,  and  who  dare 
repudiate  any  of  his  works  ?  (4.)  The  church,  in 
her  members,  has  the  gift  of  speech!  Is  every 
one  that  can  speak,  entitled  to  claim  the  office  of 
the  ministry  ?  It  is  not  enough  to  have  the  gift, 
there  must  be  a  warrant  to  use  it  for  this  specific 
purpose  in  the  house  of  God.  And  so  of  song. 
Let  those  who  have  the  gift  show  us  a  scripture 
warrant — we  have  seen  that  they  cannot — to  pre- 
pare us  songs  other  than  those  of  Jie  Bible.  (5.) 
There  is  still  among  men,  and  some  of  them  Chris- 
tians, the  gifts  of  sculpture,  &c.,  must  we  employ 
them  to  provide  us  statues  and  ornaments  for  our 
churches?  (6.)  This  is,  again,  a  "begging  of  the 
question/^     We  deny  the  right  to  use  this  gift /or 


140  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

this  particular  purpose.  To  establisli  this  right, 
thej  must  furnisli  us  witli  better  authority  than 
the  mere  possession  of  the  gift. 

VIII.  It  is  affirmed  that  godly  men  have  fa- 
voured the  use  of  hymns — have  composed  and 
sung  them  during  their  lives — have  been  edified 
by  them — and  have  died  without  experiencing  any 
scruples  upon  this  subject. 

The  facts  asserted  in  this  argument;  vre  may 
admit.  Devout  men  have  so  though t,  and  so  acted; 
but  the  conclusion  we  utterly  repudiate.  To  re- 
ceive all  that  even  excellent  men  have  held,  would 
make  strange  work  in  the  church.  Many  good 
men  have  lived  in  the  belief  of  doctrines  more  or 
less  erroneous,  and  have  retained  their  errors  to 
the  last.  Should  we  adopt  these  errors,  or  even 
tolerate  them?  Good  men  have  differed  in  rela- 
tion to  important  matters  of  practice,  as  well  as  of 
faith.  Some  have  been  Presbyterians,  some  Epis- 
copalians, some  Independents.  The  Jansenists — 
and  some  of  these  were  pious  men,  held  many  of 
the  errors  of  the  Popish  system,  particularly  the 
Papal  supremacy.  "What  kind  of  a  church  that 
would  be,  which  should  attempt  to  combine  in  one 
system,  upon  the  authority  of  the  pious  and  devout, 
these  heterogeneous,  and  often  positively  inconsis- 
tent principles  can  scarcely  be  imagined:  certainly, 
it  could  not  be  described.     We  would  have  a  parity 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  141 

of  the  ministry  and  diocesan  bishops!  A  prayer 
book,  and  no  prayer  book!  government  by  sessions, 
by  presbyteries,  &c.,  and  by  the  people,  presbyters 
being  excluded!  The  Pope  acknowledged,  and 
at  the  same  time  renounced  as  the  Antichrist!  To 
say  nothing  of  a  profession  in  the  same  church  of 
conflicting  opinions  on  important  matters  of  faith. 
And  as  to  the  edification  of  good  men  by  the  use 
of  such  songs — it  is  not  impossible  that  the  truths 
which  they  may  contain,  may  be  employed  for  this 
end  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  even  when  the  songs 
themselves  are  improperly  used.  Of  this  we  have 
no  need  to  judge. 

The  truth  is,  in  this  whole  matter,  men  are  no 
rule  of  faith,  or  of  duty.  "To  the  law,  and  to  the 
testimony. '^  The  Word  of  God  alone,  is  a  "lamp 
unto  the  feet — a  light  unto  the  path."  Men — 
good  men — owing  to  the  imperfection  of  human 
'knowledge,  may  build  upon  the  one  foundation, 
"wood,  hay,  and  stubble,"  and  still  be  saved,  while 
their  works  shall  be  burned  up;  (1  Cor.  iii.  11-14:) 
but,  surely,  we  are  not  bound,  or  even  warranted 
to  copy  their  errors — to  appropriate  their  "wood, 
hay  and  stubble!"  The  safe  rule  is  that  which 
the  Spirit  furnishes,  speaking  by  the  great  Apos- 
tle, "  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  am  of  Christ." 
(1  Cor.  xi.  1.) 

IX.  It  has  been  supposed,  and  urged,  that  the 


142  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

singing  of  the  Psalms  of  Scripture,  in  a  New  Tes« 
lament  sense, — "with  our  hearts  and  minds  full 
of  the  New  Testament  commentary,"  is  somehow 
a  warrant  for  the  making  and  using  of  hymns:  and 
this  upon  the  principle  that  "It  cannot  be  wrong 
to  express  in  words,  in  the  worship  of  God,  what 
it  is  rio-ht  to  conceive  in  thou^^ht/'  It  has  also 
been  stated,  in  this  connexion,  that  "the  most  rigid 
advocates  of  an  Old  Testament  Psalmody,  first 
comment,  and  at  the  close  of  his  commentary, 
the  minister  counsels  the  people  to  sing  as  he  has 
expounded!'^  And  it  is  added,  "It  comes  to  this, 
that  we  must  choose  between  a  prose  commentary 
which  can  neither  be  remembered  nor  sung,  and  a 
metrical  comment,  which  all  may  hold  with  their 
hands,  and  look  upon  with  their  eyes,  and  render 
vocal  with  their  tongues." 

On  this  very  singular  argument  for  hymns,  we 
remark,  (1.)  If  we  mistake  not,  the  design  of  all 
comment  is  to  ascertain  and  trace  the  true  mean- 
^ing  of  the  scriptures — whether  Old  Testament,  or 
New.  (2.)  We  were  not  aware  that  the  minister 
who  expounds  the  word  of  God,  imposes  an  ol>U- 
gaiion  upon  his  hearers  either  to  read  or  to  sing 
the  words  of  the  Bible,  "as  he  has  expounded." 
We  had  imagined  that  expositors,  whether  writing 
or  speaking,  were  "helps"  and  not  "lords  of  the 
faith"  of  the  hearer.     (3.)  If  the  Psalms  are  cor- 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  I43 

rectly  expounded,  the  worshipper  is  aided  in  sino-- 
ing  them  "with  the  spirit  and  with  the  under- 
Btandinij;:"  if  incorrectly,  he  is  not  only  at  liberty 
to  reject  the  comment,  but  bound  to  do  so.  (4.) 
If  this  argument  is  worth  anything  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  is  adduced,  it  is  equally  available  to  a 
much  greater  extent:  for  it  might  as  well  be  said, 
that  the  hearer  is  bound  to  read  his  Bible — any 
part  of  it — with  the  minister's  comment  in  his 
mind  and  heart,  as  to  sing  a  Psalm  as  it  is  ex- 
pounded. (5.)  It  seems  to  be  taken  for  granted 
here,  that  New  Testament  truth  is  not  in  the 
Psalm,  but  is  merely  put  into  the  commentary;  for 
certainly,  if  this  truth  be  there  already,  it  can  do 
no  harm,  and  may  do  much  good,  to  have  the  fact 
clearly  set  forth,  as  we  are  about  to  sing.  (6.)  If 
it  be  right  to  fix,  by  a  metrical  version,  prepared  as 
a  paraphrase  and  not  a  translation,  the  meaning  of 
a  Psalm,  and  use  this  instead  of  the  Psalm  itself, 
why  not  apply  this  rule  to  the  whole  Bible,  and 
re-write  it,  in  the  form  of  a  paraphrase,  so  that  no 
comments  will  be  needed,  and  then  put  this  into 
the  '-hands"  of  the  people  as  an  infallible  exposi- 
tion? Hence,  (7.)  The  concluding  statement  of 
this  argument  is  inconsistent  with  true  Protestant- 
ism; for  it  advocates  this  very  thing— the  substi- 
tution of  our  own  words  as  a  commentary  for  the 
words  of  the  Bible  itself,  in  the  exercise  of  praise. 


144  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

(8.)  The  whole  argument,  if  it  have  any  force  at 
all,  is  valid  only  against  explaining  the  Psalms, 
and,  if  so,  against  explaining  any  part  of  the  Bible. 
We  now  proceed, — 

II.  To  adduce  some  arguments  against  the  use 
of  uninspired  hymns  in  the  Church's  loorshijy, 
whether  domestic,  social,  or  public.  It  can  hardly 
be  necessary  to  remark,  that  we  do  not  object  to  the 
expression  of  scripture  truth  in  rhythmical  forms. 
An  author  may  make  "Gospel  Sonnets,^'  as  well 
as  '' sermons. '^  The  only  question  is,  regarding 
the  use  of  them  in  the  worship  of  God.  Against 
this  we  argue.      And, 

I.  The  praises  of  God  were  celebrated  in  song, 
for  many  centuries  under  the  Old  Testament  eco- 
nomy, but  only  in  inspired  songs.  We  have  al- 
ready seen,  in  one  of  our  quotations  from  the  pen 
of  Dr.  Pressly,  that  the  Church  in  the  patriarchal 
age,  seems,  so  far  as  we  have  any  light  at  all  upon 
this  subject,  to  have  conducted  the  worship  of  God 
•without  the  use  of  song.  Neither  the  Bible,  nor 
tradition,  gives  any  other  evidence.  That  the  poe- 
tical faculty  was  entirely  wanting,  is  extremely  im- 
probable. Yet  none  ever  attempted,  until  inspired 
of  God,  to  provide  songs  to  be  used  in  religious  ex- 
ercises. Still  more.  In  after  ages,  God  was 
praised  in  song:  but  only  in  song  as  indited  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.     None  ventured  to  obtrude  their  own 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  145 

compositions  upon  the  people  of  God  as  the  matter 
of  their  praise.  Hence,  in  times  subsequent  to 
David  and  Asaph,  we  find  Hezekiah  and  Judah,  in 
the  great  reformation  accomplished  in  the  reign  of 
that  good  king,  employing  none  other  than  the 
Psalms  already  furnished.  (2  Chron.  xxix.  30.) 
And  so  throughout  the  entire  Old  Testament  dispen- 
sation. Poets  there  were,  unquestionably;  and  yet, 
no  Psalms  or  hymns  were  ever  introduced  into  God's 
worship  except  inspired  Psalms  and  hymns:  none 
at  all,  after  the  canon  of  Old  Testament  scripture 
had  been  completed.  This  is  an  instructive  and 
admonitory  f.ict;  to  be  met  only  by  the  clearest  and 
most  unquestionable  warrant  in  the  New  Testament:: 
such  a  warrant  as  we  have  already  seen  cannot  be 
adduced. 

II.  There  is  no  authority  by  which  we  are,  or  can 
be  called  upon  to  sing  uninspired  hymns.  It 
needs  no  argument  to  show  that  the  poet  himself 
cannot  make  this  demand  upon  us.  We  may  re- 
fuse to  sing  his  songs,  and  do  no  dishonour  to  God. 
Nor  can  the  minister  by  reading  from  his  place 
such  songs,  impose  the  obligation  upon  his  fellow- 
worshippers  to  sing  them.  His  audience  may  sit 
m  silence  and  decline  to  respond  to  his  call,  which 
they  cannot  do,  without  sin,  if  able  to  sing,  when 
called  upon  to  unite  in  praising  God  in  the  "Psalmsj 
and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs"  of  the  scriptures^ 
13 


146  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

upon  wliicli  he  lias  impressed  the  sanction  of  his 
own  authority,  any  more  than  they  can  refuse  to 
read  His  word,  or  wait  upon  the  ministry  which 
he  has  appointed.  We  might  have  in  our  posses- 
sion any  hymn  book,  for  half  a  century,  unopened, 
confining  ourselves  to  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible,  and 
be  guiltless  before  God :  which  we  could  not  do  if 
it  had  His  authority  and  sanction  as  containing  the 
matter  in  which  He  is  to  be  praised  in  song.  Nor 
has  the  Church  any  authority  to  make  and  enforce 
ithe  reception  and  use  of  a  hymn-book.  For  even 
in  those  churches  in  which  hymn-books  have  been 
authorized  in  modern  times — there  was  no  such 
true  church  until  of  late — no  scruples  hinder  the 
most  severe  criticisms  upon  the  very  hymns  which 
have  received  the  very  highest  sanction — criticisms 
affecting,  not  merely  the  poetry  and  the  rhythm, 
but  the  very  matter  and  entire  character  of  the 
hymn.*  And  it  is  not  impossible  but  that  the 
whole  book  might  be  thus  handled  by  various  cri- 
tics, each  adducing  objections  against  such  songs 
as  might  offend  his  views  or  his  tastes.  Hence, 
we  are  compelled  to  conclude  that  even  those  who 
have  no  difficulty  in  conscience  as  to  the  use  of  un- 
inspired compositions,  are  conscious  that  the  church 
lias  not  been  commissioned  to  prepare  a  book  of 

*  Instances  of  this  will  be  given  in  the  sequel. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  147 

hymns — tliat  when  the  task  has  been  undertaken, 
the  book  is  still  destitute  of  any  authority  that  can 
claim  its  devout  and  conscientious  reception  and 
use. 

But  we  go  farther.  If  these  hymns  have  no 
authorized  place  in  God's  worship:  if  they  are  des- 
titute of  His  high  sanction,  they  can  be  regarded 
in  no  other  light  than  as  "will- worship:"  that  is, 
worship  of  man's  device,  and,  hence,  not  only  un- 
profitable, but  unacceptable;  not  only  unacceptable, 
but  offensive  in  God's  sight,  and  so  to  be  most 
carefully  eschewed  Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  in 
our  history  of  Psalmody,  our  reforming  fathers 
thought.  They  rejected,  on  this  principle,  all  mat- 
ter of  praise  in  song,  but  that  which  they  found 
prescribed  and  ordered  of  God, 

III.  The  employment  of  human  compositions  in 
the  worship  of  God,  does,  in  fact,  set  aside,  at  least 
for  the  time,  the  Psalms  of  the  Bible.  The  advo- 
cates of  hymns  are  not  entirely  agreed  as  to  the  pro- 
priety of  using  the  scripture  Psalms  at  all.  Some 
go  so  far  as  to  deny  them  any  rightful  place  in 
New  Testament  worship.  The  great  majority, 
however,  admit  that  they  maij  be  used,  and  that 
too,  as  a  manual  of  praise,  which  He  who  is  King 
in  Zion,  has  provided  and  appointed.  Hence, 
they  are  rather  disposed,  in  most  cases,  to  resent 
the  imputation  that  they  exclude  God  s  Psalms 


148  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

from  His  own  house,  and  assert  that  they  claim  do 
more  than  the  right  to  sing  other  songs  by  times. 
On  this  we  remark,  (1.)  That  it  suggests  the  in- 
quiry, whether  they  allow  to  the  Psalms  of  the  Bi- 
ble a  place  of  higher  authority,  than  they  do  to 
their  own  writings?  Do  they  sing  them  because 
they  are  God's,  and  appointed  by  Him,  or  solely 
on  the  ground  that  they  are  selected  by  the  wor- 
shipper for  this  purpose — or,  it  may  be,  allowed  by 
church  authority?  If  they  can  sing,  or  omit  to 
sing  them,  as  they  determine  at  the  time,  alter- 
nating them  with  "hymns,"  it  would  appear  to  be 
quite  dear  that  there  can  be  no  regard  to  God's  ap- 
pointment at  all;  or,  at  least  that  that  appointment 
is  liable  to  be  overruled,  at  any  time,  by  the  choice 
of  the  worshipper.  This  is  the  only  fair  conclusion 
from  the  premises;  and  yet  we  are  far  from  affirm- 
ing that  all  who  thus  act,  do  deliberately  subject  a 
divine  appointment  to  the  taste,  or  judgment,  or 
caprice  of  the  worshipper:  hut  tliey  act  as  if  they 
did.  (2.)  Is  it  not  evident — provided  the  Bible 
Psalms  have  a  sanction  which  cannot  be  claimed 
for  songs  of  man's  composing,  that  the  use  of  these 
songs  in  God's  worship,  at  any  given  time,  is  de- 
rogatory to  this  authority  and  sanction?  If  the 
Most  High  has  appointed  the  Psalms  to  be  sung 
in  His  praise,  and  has  fixed  the  seal  of  His  appoint- 
ment to  no  other  hymns  or  songS; — and  this  we 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  149 

have  already  shown — then,  does  it  not  follow  that 
in  mingling  a  hymn  in  our  devotions,  we  do,  for 
the  time,  set  aside  an  appointment  of  God,  and 
this  on  the  ground,  expressed  or  implied,  that  we 
have  found  something  better;  for  this  occasion  at 
least?  Should  we  use,  five  times  out  of  six,  the 
Psalms  of  the  Bible,  we  would  really  exclude  them 
from  their  appointed  place  by  the  substitution  of 
something  else  for  the  sixth  service  of  song:  for, 
if  these  Psalms  be  provided  for  our  use,  as  God's 
ordained  matter  of  praise,  it  is  not  merely  when 
we  choose  to  use  them,  that  the  command  bears 
upon  us,  but  all  the  time.  (3.)  The  inevitable  con- 
clusion is,  that  to  mingle  mere  human  hymns  with 
the  ''Psalms,"  is  nothing  less  than  to  exclude  the 
latter  from  the  position  they  are  entitled,  as  given 
of  God,  to  occupy — is  to  make  a  divine  appoint- 
ment to  depend  upon  our  own  will.  If  we  may 
set  them  aside  for  one  time,  we  may,  for  the  same 
reasons,  and  on  no  higher  authority,  set  them  aside 
entirely  and  forever. 

IV.  Hymns,  such  as  we  oppose,  are  sectarian. 
Every  hymn-singing  denomination  has  its  own 
hymn  book.  There  is  a  xMethodist  hymn  book,  a 
Baptist  hymn  book,  a  Congregational  hymn  book, 
or  books,  a  Presbyterian  hymn  book,  or  books,  a 
Cumberland  Presbyterian  l^mn  book,  a  Universal- 
ist  hymn  book,  &c.,  &c.     This  is  a  kind  of  neces- 


150  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

sity;  acknowledged  by  high  authority  to  be  so. 
We  refer  to  the  Biblical  Repertory,  (vol.  xviii.  p. 
505.)  "The  Psalmody  of  the  Christian  assembly 
has  generally  partaken  largely  of  those  character- 
istics of  thought  and  expression,  which  arise  from 
the  circumstances  of  the  people.  In  a  divided 
state  of  the  Church,  w^hen  the  different  denomina- 
tions are  zealous  for  their  respective  forms  of  doc- 
trine and  worship,  the  lyric  poetry  becomes  strongly 
argumentative  and  polemical;  addresses  men  rather 
than  God;  and  is  employed  to  defend  and  incul- 
cate theology,  and  to  confirm  the  attachment  of  the 
people  to  their  peculiar  articles  of  faith.  Hence 
each  sect  has  its  Psalmody.  Both  policy  and  con- 
science are  deemed  to  require  the  hymns  to  coin- 
cide in  sentiment  throughout  with  the  creed  of  the 
sect.  And  these  doctrines  are  not  only  stated  in 
poetical  language,  or  language  professedly  poetical, 
and  dwelt  upon  in  a  strain  of  devout  meditation, 
!but  are  frequently  inculcated  in  a  sort  of  metrical 
argument,  and  appeal  to  persons  not  supposed  to 
believe  them.'' 

In  opposition  to  all  this  sectarian  perversion  of 
this  part  of  God's  worship,  the  advocates  of  the 
exclusive  use  of  the  scripture  Psalms  hold  large- 
minded  and  catholic  views.  That  the  church  may 
become  one  in  her  vfeible  organization,  and  in 
worship,  some  at  least  of  their  hymn  books  must 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  151 

be  sacrificed.  They  cannot  all  remain.  Let  them 
all  be  discarded,  that  the  one  and  sufficient  book 
of  Psalms  furnished  by  our  Saviour  himself, 
through  the  inspiring  influences  of  His  Spirit,  may 
be  alone  made  use  of  by  all  his  people,  in  the  holy 
exercise  of  praise.  The  coming  unity  of  the  church 
will  abolish  these  uninspired  hymn  books,  or,  at 
least,  exclude  them  from  the  sacred  worship  of 
God. 

V.  It  has  been  found  impracticable — especially 
in  the  more  enlightened  and  orthodox  denomina- 
tions— to  frame  a  hymn  book  universally  accepta- 
ble, and  of  a  permanent  character.  Change,  change, 
change,  has  been  written  and  re-written  upon  these 
efforts  to  get  better  songs  for  Christian  worship 
than  those  of  the  Bible.  We  might  here,  very 
properly  allude,  once  more,  to  the  fact  that  every 
denomination  Iras  its  peculiar  system  of  hymns. 
Every  new  schism  produces  some  change  in  the 
songs  sung  in  religious  exercises.  Every  new 
phase  of  doctrine;  particularly  when  it  puts  on  a 
visible  form  as  the  exciting  cause  and  shibboleth 
of  a  new  ecclesiastical  organization,  makes  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  shape  of  new  hymns:  destined 
themselves  to  illustrate,  in  turn,  the  inherent — and 
we  believe  insuperable — difficulty  in  the  way  of  se- 
curing entire  unanimity.  In  this  connexion,  we 
present,  as  quoted  by  Mr.  Somerville,  some  testi- 


152  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

monies  in  regard  to  tlie  estimation  in  whieli  the 
majority  of  existing  hymns  is  held  by  some,  at 
least,  who  do  not  confine  themselves  to  the  use 
of  Scripture  Psalms.  "A  'Layman'  in  the  Neiu 
York  Independent,  Feb.  23,  1854,  says — 'We  have 
some  two  thousand  pieces,  which  are  called  Psalms, 
or  Hymns.  Perhaps  two  hundred  of  them  may 
pass  for  odes  or  lyrics,  suitable  for  singing.  Fifty 
more  might  possibly  be  selected  by  an  expert.'  The 
Boston  Congregationalist,  Feb.  15,  1853,  has  the 
following: — 'Professor  B.  B.  Edwards  believed  that 
two  or  three  hundred  Psalms  or  Hymns  would  in- 
clude all  which  are  of  sterling  value  for  the  sanc- 
tuary. Unquestionably  he  was  right.  The  popu- 
lar demand  for  new  and  more  numerous  hymns,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  arises  in  part  from  the  wide  dis- 
satisfaction with  a  large  number  of  those  with 
which  our  hymn  books  are  filled.  Let  us  have 
fewer  and  choicer.  Let  them  be  truly  sacred  lyrics, 
and  not  feeble  prose,  measured  and  amputated  to 
the  proper  length,  and  afterwards  still  further 
mangled,  at  the  mercy  of  men  who  wonder  that 
David,  (or  rather  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  spake  by 
him)  'had  not  sufi&cient  native  sense  to  have  com- 
posed his  Psalms  in  proper  metres,  ready  at  once 
to  be  cantered  through  'DeFleury,  or  paced  through 
State  Street."  The  Gla^-gow  Examiner  for  Sept. 
18,  1852,  thus  remarks  upon  the  'Hymn  Book  of 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  153 

the  U.  P.  Church/  ^^  The  collection  contains  a  great 
many  beautiful  effusions  of  sanctified  genius,  and 
not  a  few  very  trashy  'productions.' " 

The  last  hymn  book  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
(Old  School)  furnishes  an  example  in  proof  of  our 
statement,  deserving  of  especial  notice.  This  book 
is  the  result  of  a  second  and  laborious  attempt  to 
prepare  a  proper  hymn  book.  The  first,  which  was 
compiled  by  a  very  able  committee  of  the  Assembly, 
and  by  the  labours  of  a  number  of  years,  and  which 
was  long  sung,  was  an  acknowledged  failure.  The 
committee  to  whom  was  intrusted,  in  1838,  the 
task  of  revising  it,  pronounced  in  their  report  to 
the  Assembly,  the  following  judgment  upon  its  de- 
merits. "On  a  critical  examination  they  found 
many  hymns  deficient  in  literary  merit,  some  in- 
correct in  doctrine,  and  many  altogether  unsuitable 
for  the  sanctuary  as  songs  of  praise,  for  want  of 
suitable  sentiments,  although  not  incorrect  in  doc- 
trine or  deficient  in  literary  merit."* 

But  did  this  Committee,  whose  report  and  a  new 
book,  which  they  had  compiled,  were  adopted  in 
1840,  succeed  any  better  in  satisfying  the  whole 
body?  The  Biblical  Repertory,  conducted  by  the 
Professors  of  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Prince- 
ton, says,  ^'We  are  free  to  confess  that  there  are 

*  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.  582. 


154  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

many  things  in  tlie  book  laid  before  the  Assembly 
•which  we  think  ought  not  to  be  there;  hymns 
which  we  consider  unsuitable  for  the  worship  of 
God.  Some  of  them  are  mere  sentimental  effu- 
sions; some  objectionable  from  the  lightness  of 
their  measure,  and  others  for  their  want  of  all 
poetic  excellence/'  Others  agreed  with  the  Re- 
pertory; and,  just  now,  a  spirit  of  dissatisfaction 
with  their  hymns  begins  to  make  itself  manifest  in 
influential  quarters.  The  Southern  Presbyterian, 
a  paper  connected  with  that  denomination,  referring 
to  a  difficulty  which  has  arisen  out  of  a  late  dis- 
covery that  one  hymn  occurs  twice  in  the  book, 
says,  "It  is  not  enough  to  'remove  duplicate 
hymns;'  those  must  be  removed  which  are  ^un- 
2)oetical  and  lacking  in  lyrical  merit.'  It  thinks 
some  of  the  hymns  would  do  very  well  as  '  doc- 
trinal treatises,  spiritual  maxims,  practical  lessons, 
didactic  essays,  doctrinal  argumentations  and  de- 
fences, very  sensible,  but  very  sedate  and  angular 
moralizings  in  verse.'  Hence  some  of  these  'are 
neither  read  nor  sung, — not  sung,  because  they 
are  not  fit  for  the  purpose;  and  not  read,  because 
people  do  not  novj  go  to  the  hymn  book  when  they 
feel  like  reading.'  And  then  proceeds  thus:  'But 
it  may  be  asked.  What  harm  do  those  pieces  in 
the  book  ?  We  reply,  they  encumber  it;  they  are 
in  the  way  when  one  is  looking  for  hymns  that  are 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  lOO 

hymns;  tlicy  increase  tlie  price,  whilst  thc}^  add 
nothing  to  the  value  of  the  volume.  We  say 
nothing  about  the  credit  they  do  us,  or  fail  to  do 
us,  as  a  denomination  making  some  pretensions  to 
taste  in  poetry,  as  in  other  things.  This  is  a  ten- 
der subject,  and  we  do  not  wish  to  give  offence. 
Wonder  if  Dr.  Dewey  had  not  been  recently  look- 
ing over  some  of  these  pieces  when  he  asked  with 
so  pompous,  triumphant  emphasis,  'What  poem 
has  Calvinism  written?^'' 

A  '^  greatly  respected  correspondent"  of  the  Pres- 
byterian''  of  this  city,  and  ''who  has  given  the 
subject,"  we  use  the  words  of  the  editor,  ''much 
consideration,"  thus  writes  of  the  hymnology  of 
the  times,  making  no  exceptions  in  regard  to  any- 
particular  system:  "Our  hymnology  is  far  enough 
from  perfection.  It  has  grave  defects  and  ble- 
mishes. It  needs  emending  and  purging.  It  does 
not  recognise  and  carry  out,  as  a  distinctive  and 
controlling  principle,  this — that  song,  in  the  de- 
votions of  the  family  and  the  church,  is  truly  a  ser- 
vice of  worship.  It  abounds  with  hymns  addressed 
to  creatures,  sinners,  saints,  angels,  the  living  and 
the  dead.  These  hymns  are  not  the  impassioned 
cry  of  an  adoring  soul,  calling  on  all  things  to 
praise  and  magnify  the  Lord.  That  is  of  the  very- 
essence  of  worship.  But  they  reason,  exhort,  ex- 
postulate, promise;  threaten;  they  moralize,  solilo- 


156  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

quize — sometimes  eulogize.  They  sing  to  frail, 
sinful,  dying  men — not  to  the  great  and  holy  God. 
And  as  our  books  liberally  provide  such  composi- 
tions, ministers  and  people  use  them,  and  have 
used  them,  until  the  sense  of  their  incongruity 
with  the  idea  and  fact  of  worship  is  almost  or 
quite  effaced.'^* 

Nor  is  there  universal  acquiescence  in  the  com- 
mon opinion  among  such  as  use  hymns,  of  the  ex- 
cellency of  Watts'  "  Imitations.''  Dr.  K.  J.  Breck- 
enridge,  a  very  competent  judge,  uses  this  language 
regarding  it:  "  We  freely  confess  that,  for  ourselves, 
we  consider  the  Paraphrase  of  the  Psalms,  by  Dr. 
Watts,  the  most  defective  part  of  our  Psalmody; 
and  only  more  and  more  marvel  that  such  a  mise- 
rable attempt  should  have  acquired  so  much  repu- 
tation." f  Dr.  Junkin,  who  holds  a  high  position 
in  the  same  body — Old  School  Presbyterian, — thus 
characterizes  this  attempt  to  improve  the  Psalms 
of  the  Bible :  ^'  Dr.  Watts  has  attempted,  professedly, 
to  improve  upon  the  sentiment,  the  very  matter, 
and  the  order,  and  by  various  omissions  and  addi- 
tions, to  fit  the  Psalms  for  Christian  worship.  This 
is  unfair.  If  Pope  had  taken  the  same  license 
with  the  poems  of  Homer,  all  the  amateurs  of  Greek 

*  S.  D.,  in  the  Presbyterian,  Nov.  20th,  1858. 
■j-  Spirit  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  vol.  ii.  58G. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  157 

poetry  in  the  -world  would  have  cried — shame  on 
the  presumptuous  intruder!  But  it  is  a  pious  and 
zealous  Christian  divine  who  has  taken  this  liberty 
with  the  songs  of  Zion,  and  almost  the  whole  church 
acquiesces  in  it.  What  would  we  think  of  the 
French  poet  who,  proposing  to  enrich  French  li- 
terature with  a  versification  of  the  masterpiece  of 
the  English  muse,  should  mangle  and  transpose 
the  torn  limbs  of  the  Paradise  Lost,  until  Milton 
himself  might  meet  his  first-born  on  the  highway 
and  not  recognise  it?  And  must  this  literary 
butchery  be  tolerated,  because  forsooth  the  victim 
is  the  inspired  Psalmist?  Why  should  the  Hea- 
ven-taught bard  be  misrepresented  thus?  Let  us 
rather  have  the  songs  of  inspiration  as  God  in- 
spired them,  and  as  nearly  as  is  possible,  and  con- 
sistent with  the  laws  of  English  versification. 
God's  order  of  thought  is  doubtless  the  best  for  his 
church.  If  any  one  think  he  can  write  better  spi- 
ritual songs  than  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  let  him 
do  it;  but  let  him  not  dress  the  savoury  meat  which 
God  hath  prepared,  until  all  the  substance  and  sa- 
vour are  gone,  and  then  present  it  to  us  as  an  imi- 
tation of  David's  psalms/'  '^^ 

Thus,  the  effi^rts  of  one  of  the  most  intelligent, 


*  Lectures  on  the  Prophecies,  by  George  Junkin,  D.  D., 
pp.  231,  233. 
14 


158  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

and  orthodox,  and  literary  denominations  in  tliis 
country,  have  signally  failed  to  procure  a  hymn 
book  on  whose  merits  they  can  agree.  *  They  may 
try  it  again;  but  only  to  subject  themselves  to 
another  mortifying  failure.  Among  an  ignorant 
people,  or  people  of  lax  doctrinal  views,  it  may  be 
possible  to  secure  a  more  general  acquiescence  in 
a  volume  of  hymns.  But  this  does  not  weaken — 
it  rather  strengthens  the  argument  against  hymns, 
derived  from  the  apparent  impossibility  of  attain- 
ing this  in  an  educated  and  inquiring  community. 
Now,  it  is,  certainly,  not  unreasonable  that  we 
should  demand  of  these  churches  that  they  suit 
themselves  in  a  book  of  hymns,  before  they  ask  us 
to  join  them  in  the  singing  of  hymns.  Indeed, 
with  what  propriety — we  had  almost  said,  with  what 
decency — can  they  call  upon  us  to  unite  with  them 
in  laying  aside,  even  in  part,  if  there  were  no  more, 


*  The  new  hymn  book,  we  might  have  said  above,  was 
severely  criticised  on  the  floor  of  the  Assembly,  by  which 
it  was  adopted.  The  chairman  of  the  committee,  some- 
what disturbed  by  the  unfavourable  remarks  upon  the 
book,  at  length  rose,  and  said,  in  substance,  that  he  could 
sympathize  with  a  good  deal  that  had  been  said ;  for  after 
revising  each  hymn,  time  after  time, — in  all,  some  six  or 
seven  times,  he  had  thought  it  "  the  meanest  book  he  had 
ever  seen," — adding,  with  a  smile,  "of  course,  I  think 
better  of  it  now." 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  159 

tlie  Book  of  Psalms  in  a  literal  rendering,  and  in 
the  adoption  of  hymns  in  our  devotions,  while  they 
are  so  far  from  being  satisfied  with  their  new 
Psalmody  ?  Wc  have  a  Book  which  has  stood  the 
test  of  thousands  of  years;  which,  as  wc  have  seen, 
has  instructed,  edified  and  cheered  hosts  of  the 
saints  of  God,  living  and  dying;  and  with  which 
we  are  fully  satisfied.  *  It  is  rather  too  much  to 
ask  us  to  desert  the  stable  position  we  now  occupy, 
and  to  enter  upon  seas  of  uncertainty — to  subject 
ourselves  to  similar  harassing  toils  in  the  hitherto 
vain  pursuit  of  unity  and  uniformity  in  singing 
hymns  of  human  composition — particularly  as  we 
have  in  the  Psalms  which  the  Most  Hioli  has  s-ra- 
ciously  provided  us,  ample  matter  for  the  celebra- 
tion of  His  praises. 

VI.  The  advocacy  of  hymn-singing  has  led  to 
the  adoption  and  utterance  of  sentiments  which 
strike  at  the  very  fundamentals  of  Christianity.  We 
begin  with  Dr.  Watts — who  "Imitated "the  Psalms 
of  the  Bible,  and  also,  prepared  many  of  the  hymns 
now  in  use.  This  favourite  poet  and  hymn-writer 
allowed  himself  to  speak  of  the  Psalms  of  Scrip- 
ture in  the  following  terms.  "  Some  of  them  are 
almost  oj^posite  to  the  spirit  of  the  gospel.     Hence 


*  Of  the  version  used  in  our  churches,  we  have  some- 
thing to  say  iu  the  sequel. 


160  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

it  comes  to  pass,  that  when  spiritual  affections  are 
excited  within  us,  and  our  souls  are  raised  a  little 
above  this  earth,  in  the  beginning  of  a  psalm,  we 
are  checked  on  a  sudden  in  our  ascent  towards  hea- 
ven, by  same  expressions  that  are — fit  only  to  be 
sung  in  the  luorldly  sanctuary.     When  we  are  just 
entering  into  an  evangelical  frame — the  very  next 
line — which  the  clerk  parcels  out  to  us,  hath  some- 
thing in  it  so  extremely  Jewish  and  cloudy^  that  it 
darkens  our  sight  of  God  the  Saviour.      Thus 
by  keeping  too  close  to  David  in    the  house   of 
God,  the  vail  of  Moses  is  thrown  over  our  hearts. 
While  we  are   kindling  into  divine    love — some 
dreadful  curse  against  men  is  proposed  to  our  lips; 
as,  Ps.  Ixix.  26-28;  which  is  so  contrary  to  the 
new  commandment  of  loving  our  enemies.      Some 
sentences  of  the  Psalmist — may  compose  our  spirits 
to  seriousness,  but  we  meet  with  a  following  line, 
that  breaks  off  our  song  in  the  midst;  our  con- 
sciences are  affrighted,  lest  we  should  speak  a  false- 
hood unto  God;  thus  the  powers  of  our  souls  are 
shocked  on  a  sudden,  and  our  spirits  ruffled — it  al- 
most always  spoils  the  devotion — Our  lips  speak 
nothing  but  the  heart  of  David.     Thus  our  hearts 
are,  as  it  were,  forbid  the  pursuit  of  the  song,  and 
then  the  harmony  and  the  worship  grow  dull  of 
necessity.     Many  ministers,  and  private  Christians, 
have  long  groaned  under  this  inconvenience — there 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  161 

are  a  tlwusand  lines  in  it — tlie  book  of  Psalms — 
which  were  not  made  for  a  church  in  our  days  to 
assume  as  its  own — I  should  rejoice  to  see — David 
converted  into  a  Christian:  there  are  many  hun- 
dred verses  in  that  book,  (of  Psalms)  which  a  Chris- 
tian cannot  properly  assume  in  singing — as  Ps. 
Ixviii.  13,  16,  and  Ixxxiv.  3,  6, — Ps.  Ixix.  28,  and 
Ps.  cix.  are  so  full  of  cursings,  that  they  hardly 
become  the  tongue  of  a  follower  of  the  blessed  Je- 
sus. By  that  time  they  are  fitted  for  Christian 
Psalmody — the  composure  can  hardly  be  called  in- 
spired or  divine — I  could  never  persuade  myself 
that  the  best  way  to  raise  a  devout  frame  in  plain 
Christians,  was  to  bring  a  Icing  or  captain  into 
our  churches,  and  let  him  lead  and  dictate  the 
worship  in  his  oion  style  of  royalty,  or  in  the  lan- 
guage of  a  field  of  battle.''  * 

Another,  Dr.  James  Latta,  uses  such  language 
as  the  following:  "Whether  these  Psalms  {jnen- 
tioned,  1  Cor.  xiv.  26,)  were  the  effect  of  previous 
study  and  inspiration  united,  or  of  immediate  sug- 
gestion, they  were  certainly  not  designed  to  inspire 
them — (the  converts  to  the  gospel)  loith  veneration 
and  respect  for  the  Psalms  of  David.  Any  person 
— will  quickly  perceive  how  remote  psalms  and 
hymns,  formed  upon  it  (the  orthodox  Nicene  creed) 


*  Preface  to  the  Imitation,  Works,  Vol.  7,  p.  24. 
14* 


162  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

would  be  from  the — doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament. 
Nor  do  I  think  (the  introduction  of  the  Psalms  of 
David  into  the  Christian  church)  was  very  honour- 
able to  the  cause  of  Christ.  It  deprived  him  of — 
divine  honour — It  deprived  the  asserters  of  his 
deity  of  all  opportunity  of  bearing  testimony  to  it 
in  that  part  of  their  worship — It  decided  clearly 
in  favour  of  that  tenet  of  Arianism,  that  divine 
worship  was  to  be  paid  only  to  the  Father,  and  so 
had  a  direct  tendency — to  malce  heresy  trium- 
yliantr^ 

The  Psalms  of  the  Bible,  unchristian  in  spirit, 
in  doctrine, — unfit  for  devotion,  tend  to  make  he- 
retics, &c. !  How  different  this  estimate  of  the  in- 
spired Psalter,  from  the  testimonies  to  its  excel- 
lence which  we  have  furnished  so  abundantly  in 
our  first  chapter!  And  in  whose  service,  but  in 
that  of  the  infidel,  were  Dr.  Watts  and  Dr.  Latta 
employed  in  putting  forth  such  utterances  against 
the  Word  of  God? 

Others  have  gone  nearly  as  far,  in  other  forms, 
in  this  work  of  undermining  the  faith  of  the  church. 
They  have  virtually  denied  that  the  church — we 
speak  in  reference  to  her  ordinary  members — has, 
in  her  possession,  the  word  of  Grod  at  all:  asserting, 
substantially,  that  there  is  no  Bible,  except  in  the 

*  Discourse  on  Psalmody,  pp.  42,  51,  77. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  163 

original  Greek  and  Hebrew.  Mr.  Black,  against 
whose  views  on  Psalmody,  Dr.  Anderson  composed 
his  able  work,  thus  wrote  some  sixty  or  seventy 
years  ago:  "That  there  neither  is  nor  can  be  any 
such  thing  as  the  uisjJi'rcd  forms  of  the  psalms  in 
our  language,  unless  an  immediate  revelation  were 
made  in  that  language:  that  it  is  not  possible  to  re- 
tain the  words  and  phrases  of  the  original  in  any 
translation;  that  as  a  prophet  is  to  speak  in  the 
language  which  is  suggested  to  him,  his  words  are 
justly  called  the  words  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  but  that 
whenever  a  translation  of  that  subject  is  made  into 
any  other  language,  the  words  of  the  language  into 
which  it  is  translated  are  no  more  the  words  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  than  Greek  is  English."  We  need 
not  pause  here  to  vindicate  the  claim  of  our  Bibles 
as  they  are  in  the  hands  of  the  people  of  God,  to 
be,  indeed,  the  word  of  the  living  God.  This  is 
part  of  our  controversy  as  Protestants  with  the  Po- 
pish apostacy. 

Another  late  writer,  follows  in  the  same  strain; 
^'The  inspired  songs  of  the  Old  Testament  are  writ- 
ten in  Hebrew,  and  that  has  been  a  dead  language 
to  her  ever  since  her  (the  Christian  church's,)  first 
existence.  She  might  translate  these  songs: — 
but  the  songs  themselves  she  could  not  use."* 

*  Morton  on  Psalmody,  p.  86. 


164  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

And;  of  course, — provided  this  be  true  of  tlie 
Psalms,  it  must  be  equally  so  of  any  portion  of  the 
Bible, — and  so,  in  his  zeal  against  the  exclusive 
use  of  the  Scripture  Psalms,  this  writer  would  take 
away  from  the  plain  people  of  God,  the  entire  Word 
of  God:  for,  if  the  translated  Psalms  are  not  the 
Psalms,  then  the  translated  Sermon  on  the  mount, 
is  not  the  Sermon  on  the  mount:  if  translated  Psalms 
occupy,  substantially,  the  same  position  as  the  or- 
dinary compositions  of  men,  which  express  scrip- 
ture truth,  then  are  the  translated  epistles  of  Paul, 
to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light  as  other  sound 
gospel  teaching, — as  to  the  inspired  Paul's  epis- 
tles, however,  we  cannot  have  them  in  our  hands 
unless  we  can  read  Greek!  These  doctrines  would 
deprive  us  of  the  Bible  altogether:  they  would  be- 
reave the  church  of  Christ  of  any  authoritative 
standard  of  faith  and  duty,  accessible  to  unlettered 
Christians,  and  would  hand  these  over  to  the  teach- 
ings and  interpretations  of  the  learned,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  clergy.  Thus  the  Papists  teach,  rea- 
son, and  conclude. 

But  this  is  not  all.  While  at  one  time  the 
claims  of  the  scriptures  in  the  vulgar  tongue  are 
brought  doiun  to  the  level  of  ordinary  compositions; 
at  other  times,  the  writings  of  men  are  exalted  so 
as  to  bring  them  up  to  the  height,  at  least,  of  the 
translated  word  of  God.     "And  if  tlie  subject  mat- 


HYMNS  UNW^\-RRANTED.  165 

ter  is  inspired;  that  is  enough;  the.  song  is  an  in- 
spired song.  For  everybody  knows,  and  the  Doc- 
tor admits  it,  that  the  composition  has  its  character 
from  the  subject  matter.  Every  song,  then,  having 
for  its  subject  matter  inspired  truth,  is  in  reality 
an  inspired  song.'^*  If  this  be  so,  then,  every 
sermon  which  faithfully  presents  gospel  truth, 
every  acceptable  prayer  as  well  as  every  sound 
hymn,  must  be  ^' inspired'^  also!  And,  then,  so 
far  from  having  no  English  Bible,  as  at  other  times 
seems  to  be  taught,  we  have  any  tiumber  of  them 
— they  are  beyond  computation! 

Another,  of  higher  name,  teaches,  indirectly, 
the  same  singular  doctrine.  He  says,  ''Humaa 
composure,  properly  speaking,  is  something,  whe- 
ther in  prose  or  verse,  composed  by  men,  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  which  is  human  views,  wishes,  con- 
cerns or  interests.  It  is  not  proper  to  call  a  poem, 
the  ground  and  substance  of  which  is  some  doc- 
trine, precept,  promise,  &c.,  in  the  word  of  God, 
a  ^human  composure/"  Dr.  Pressly,  among  other 
judicious  comments  upon  this  remarkable  definition 
of  the  phrase  ''human  composures,"  says,  "The 
reader  will  perceive  that  the  author  of  the  '  Inquiry' 
does  not  choose  to  appear  before  the  public  as  the 
advocate  of  the  use  of  songs  of  '  human  composure,' 

*  Morton  on  Psalmody,  p.  92. 


166  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

in  the  worship  of  God.  And  to  extricate  himself 
from  this  difficulty,  he  has  invented  a  convenient 
definition  of  the  phrase,  'human  composure/  He 
maintains  tliat  a  composition,  which  has  been  writ- 
ten and  arranged  by  man,  provided  the  matter  of 
it  be  taken  from  the  Bible,  is  not  a  'human  com- 
posure,' but  is  'divine.'  And  according  to  this  de- 
finition, every  evangelical  sermon  in  the  world  is 
a  'divine'  composition!  and  Dr.  Ralstou's  'Brief 
Explication  of  the  Principal  Prophecies  of  Daniel 
and  John,'  is  a  'divine'  book!  Against  such  an 
abuse  of  language,  for  the  purpose  of  elevating  the 
compositions  of  men  to  a  level  with  the  word  of 
God,  I  enter  my  solemn  protest."*  And  well  he 
may:  for  it  is  more  than  an  "abuse  of  language" 
— it  is  false  teaching,  calculated  to  mar  the  faith 
of  the  church. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter  into  any  detailed 
refutation  of  these  heretical  assertions  and  doc- 
trines. Every  champion  of  the  church's  common 
faith,  as  against  infidels,  papists  and  enthusiasts 
of  all  sorts  who  pretend  to  share  in  inspiration,  is 
equally  bound  with  us  to  engage  in  this  work. 
These  are  errors  which  assail  the  very  foundations. 
We  hold  them  up  as  beacons  to  admonish  the 
reader  to  beware  of  entering  upon  that  course  of 

*  Pressly,  p.  22. 


HYMNS  UNWAURANTED.  167 

reasoning  wliich  has  led  to  sucli  conclusions  as 
these,  regarding  the  character  and  spirit  of  the  Bi- 
ble itself,  and  as  to  the  fact  whether  we  have 
any  Eible  at  all,  in  any  other  tongue  than  the  He- 
brew and  Greek,  or  even  any  Bible  whatever,  in- 
spired in  a  way  far  transcending  all  that  ordinary, 
even  good,  teaching  can  claim. 

Nor  do  we  design  to  affirm,  or  even  insinuate, 
that  all  who  favour  the  singing  of  hymns,  have 
gone  these  lengths.  An  Alexander,  or  a  Junkin, 
would  revolt  at  teachings  like  these,  as  sincerely  as 
we  do.  But  to  these  results,  not  a  few,  as  we 
have  seen,  have  been  driven  in  their  advocacy  of 
hymn-making  and  hymn-singing  in  the  worship  of 
God.  Nor  can  we  exempt  from  all  blame,  the  de- 
nominations in  behalf  of  whose  practice  in  this 
matter  of  Psalmody  these  statements  have  been 
made:  for  we  have  yet  to  learn  that  these  assertions 
and  reasonings  have  been  met  by  any  such  rebuke 
on  their  part,  as  they  certainly  deserve. 

It  is  no  hallowed  cause  in  which  men  not  defi- 
cient in  sagacity  have  felt  themselves  constrained, 
somehow,  by  an  inexorable  logic  to  defend  their 
views  at  such  an  expense.  If  hymns  cannot  be 
vindicated,  without  disparaging  the  translated  word 
of  God  and  its  claim  to  hold,  when  faithfully  ren- 
dered, an  incomparably  higher  place  than  the  com- 
positions even  of  the  most  enlightened  and  experi- 


168  THE  TRUE   PSALMODY. 

enced  Cliristians^  their  defence  ouglit^  by  all  means, 
to  be  abandoned. 

VII.  The  introduction  and  the  use  of  hymns,  has 
been  followed  by  the  abandonment,  to  a  very  great 
extent,  of  congregational  singing:  and,  even  in  do- 
mestic worship,  there  is,  if  we  are  not  greatly  mis- 
taken, comparatively  little  use  of  sacred  song. 
Hymns  and  "Imitations"  of  the  Psalms  have  been, 
in  a  vast  number  of  instances,  the  precursors  of  va- 
rious appliances  and  arrangements  in  connexion 
with  the  musical  services  of  the  sanctuary;  while 
these,  again,  have  had  the  effect  of  closing  the  lips 
of  the  worshippers.  So  that^  except  in  social  meet- 
ings, we  may  safely  assert,  that  in  most  denomi- 
nations,* which  favour  the  singing  of  uninspired 
songs,  they  often  do  not  after  all  sing  them,  either 
in  public  or  domestic  worship!  The  great  mass 
of  the  worshippers  (?)  in  public  service  "sit  mute" 
— to  use  an  expression  employed  by  a  late  writer 
respecting  the  Independent  Churches  of  England, 
— while  a  few  in  the  choir  attend  to  this  part  of 
the  services.  Is  not  this,  notoriously,  the  fact? 
too  notorious  to  require  any  proof?  And,  not  in 
this  land,  alone,  but  in  others,  although  not  every- 
where to  the  same  extent,  the  use  of  hymns  has 

*  The  Methodist  denominations  do  still,  ■we  believe,  re- 
tain congregational  singing. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  1G9 

largely  sent  the  entire  "service  of  song"  into  some 
corner  of  the  church  edifice,  committing  it  to  a  few, 
and  these  not  always  specially  devout  and  solemn. 
In  many  congregations,  the  voice  of  a  worshipper 
anywhere  out  of  the  choir-gallery,  would  be  frowned 
upon  as  an  unwarrantable  interference  with  the  ar- 
tistic efforts  of  the  select  few!  As  to  the  devotions 
of  the  family,  in  this  country  at  least,  we  are  quite 
safe  in  asserting  that  they  are  generally  conducted 
in  hymn-singing  denominations  by  reading  the 
scriptures  and  praying  alone;  singing  praise  is 
omitted.  Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander  says,  "This  part 
of  the  service  (family  singing)  has  fallen  out  of 
the  practice  of  many  households,  and  (strangely 
enough)  extensively  in  those  regions  where  scien- 
tific music  has  been  most  boastfully  cultivated.'' 
"It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  in  those  circles  of 
the  religious  world  which  consider  themselves  the 
most  accomplished,  there  are  many  families  where 
sacred  music  receives  no  separate  attention  *  *  =5^; 
when  the  hour  of  family  worship  arrives,  no  liymn 
of-prahe  ascends  tv  God  *  *  *;  our  Christian  daugh- 
ters, practising  for  hours  a  day  under  great  mas- 
ters of  singing,  are  sometimes  unwilling  to  lend 
their  aid  even  in  the  house  of  God.''  *  *  "We  be- 
lieve that  the  revival  of  Psalmody  in  the  house, 
would  contribute  to  train  voices  for  the  sanctuary." 
"It  is  .mournful  to  think;  that  a  service  which  was 
15 


170  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

SO  precious  to  our  ancestorSj  and  which  they  made 
sacrifices  to  enjoy,  even  when  under  the  sword  of 
persecution,  should  die  out  in  many  Christian  fa- 
milies in  these  days  of  peace,  when  there  is  no  lack 
of  worldly  rejoicings,  'and  the  harp,  and  the  viol, 
tabret,  and  pipe,  and  wine,  are  in  their  feasts/^' 
(Is.  V.  12.*) 

There  are  exceptions:  but  the  fact  is  indisputa- 
ble, that  congregational  singing,  and  singing  in 
family  worship  have  largely  disappeared :  f  and  a 
most  singular  fact  it  is.  Claiming  the  right  to 
sing  anything  they  please — advocating  a  wide  li- 
berty of  selection — boasting  that  they  have  found 
hymns — multitudes  of  them — more  suitable  for 
New  Testament  service  of  sacred  song;  they  do  pro- 
bably— really  sing  nothing  at  all — in  the  public — it 
may  be  in  the  domestic  worship  of  God!  Having 
banished  the  "Psalms,  hymns  and  spiritual  songs" 
which  God  has  provided,  adopting  in  their  stead, 
either  "Imitations'^  of  them,  or  hymns,  they  have 
gone  on  to  a  practical  disregard  of  the  ordinance 
of  praise  itself!  They  neither  sing  the  Psalms  of 
the  Bible,  nor  any  other! 


*  Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander's  Tliouglits  on  Family  Worship, 
pp.  218,  224,  226,  230. 

I  Some  efforts  are  making  to  revive  congregational 
Binging;  but  -with  only  partial  success. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  171 

Not  so  the  Psalm-singing  churches.  They  re- 
tain con.Gjrcgational  singing.  In  a  very  few  in- 
stanccS;  the  choir  principle  may  be  adopted  par- 
tially, but  no  where,  we  believe,  can  there  be 
found  a  congregation  which  remits  the  exercise  of 
praise  to  a  few  occupants  of  a  gallery,  And  so  of 
family  worship.  In  Psalm-singing  denominations, 
both  in  this  country,  and  in  Europe,  the  celebra- 
tion of  God's  praise  in  the  songs  of  Zion,  is  one 
part  of  the  exercises  of  family  worship.  On  this 
we  quote  from  Dr.  Alexander: ''  The  use  of  Psalmody 
in  family  worship  we  believe  to  have  been  almost 
universal  (he  might  have  said  universal)  in  the 
Old  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  as  il  has 
been  laudably  hept  up  till  this  day.  That  it  tended, 
in  a  high  degree,  to  increase  the  interest  of  all  con- 
cerned in  the  service,  and  to  promote  Christian 
knowledge  and  sound  piety,  we  cannot  for  a  mo- 
ment doubt."  *  All  this  has  now  mainly  departed 
from  one  class  of  churches,  while  it  has  remained 
in  another.  Is  there  not  a  very  solemn  lesson,  both 
of  instruction  and  admonition  to  be  learned  from 
this? 

But  why  has  sindng  praise,  been  dropped  so  ex- 
tensively in  connexion  with  the  use  of  hymns? 
We  suggest  the  following:  (1.)  The  hymns  lack  an- 

*  Thoughts,  &c.,  p.  222. 


172  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

ikority.  It  is  very  difficult  to  make  out  the  c^ll 
of  God  in  the  case  of  any  given  hymn  at  a  given 
time.  Even  admitting  that  it  is  a  duty  to  sing 
praise,  the  question  rises  as  to  the  call  to  this  duty 
in  the  given  case.  We  have  no  doubt  at  all  that 
this  radical  defect  in  the  entire  system  of  hymns, 
has  wrought,  gradually,  but  effectively,  to  produce 
the  state  of  things  vre  now  witness,  and  so  many 
deplore.  (2.)  And,  in  part,  arising  from  the  same 
cause,  the  idea  of  worship  has  ceased  to  no  inconsi- 
derable extent  to  be  attached  to  the  singing  of 
hymns.  We  here  use  the  words,  and  support  our 
statement  by  the  authority,  of  the  writer  from  whom 
we  have  already  quoted:  "Is  the  true  character  of 
this  service  that  of  worship  ?  Probably  few  or 
none  would,  in  form,  deny  it.  Our  hymn  books, 
however,  and  the  usage  of  many  Christian  minis- 
ters and  people  do  deny  it,  in  fact.  At  least  they 
hold  it  as  a  mixed  service,  partly  worship  and  part- 
ly not.  They  sing  now  to  God,  and  now  to  crea- 
tures. They  do  this,  not  only  in  mere  musical  ex- 
ercises and  recreations  when  there  is  no  profession 
of  worship,  but  also  when  households  encompass 
the  domestic  altar  and  the  great  congregation  waits 
before  God.  As  a  divine  ordinance,  then,  the  ser- 
vice of  song  is  one  of  worship.  This  is  the  view 
of  the  Bible,  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  the  usage 
of  heaven.     Like  prayer,  it  is  worship  in  its  most 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  173 

direct  form.  What  then?  This.  Thou  shalt  wor- 
ship the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 
serve.  No  creature,  man,  or  angel,  may  share  this 
honour.  It  belongs  exclusively  to  God.  The  con- 
clusion is  inevitable  and  urgent.  It  reaches  our 
hymn  books.  It  demands  a  material  change  in 
their  character.  They  are  not  formed  on  this  de- 
finite and  prime  principle.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
they  agree  with  it,  as  often  they  violate  it.  What- 
ever their  compilers  thought  sufficiently  pious  and 
lyrical  seems  to  have  been  inserted  without  a  con- 
trolling reference  to  its  fitness  for  the  specific  pur- 
pose of  worship.  They  abound,  therefore,  with 
meditations,  invitations,  exhortations,  expostula- 
tions, soliloquies,  and  even  dialogues.  Here  they 
sing  to  creatures,  and  there  to  God;  thus  practi- 
cally teaching  that  the  one  is  right  and  becoming 
as  the  other.''*  (3.)  The  abandonment  so  large- 
ly of  congregational  singing,  may  be  traced  to  that 
fondness  for  fine,  scientific  music,  which  has  ever 
followed  in  the  train  of  hymns,  when  used  among 
a  cultivated  people.  The  associations  of  every  day 
musical  training  and  recreations,  are  readily  trans- 
ferred to  the  Sabbath,  and  the  sanctuary.  It  is 
all  the  singing  of  songs:  men's  songs.     These  may 


*  S.  D.,  in  the  Presbyterian,  Nov.  27th,  and  Dec.  4th, 
1858. 

15* 


174  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

differ  in  their  subject^  but  they  are  one  in  their 
origin.  Hence,  unlike  those  who  use  the  word  of 
God  alone  in  singing  his  praise,  there  is  no  parti- 
cular sense  of  incongruity  in  treating  hymns  as 
other  songs  are  treated. — that  is,  made  the  mere 
vehicle  of  music,  instead  of  employing  music  to 
deepen  the  impression  of  the  sentiments  uttered. 

Whether  we  have  traced  the  causes  of  this  state 
of  things  accurately,  or  not,  our  facts  remain. 
They  deserve  high  consideration. 

VIII.  The  use  of  hymns  in  religious  exercises 
endangers  the  church's  purity:  hymns  may  be 
used  and  have  been,  in  diffusing  errors  and  heresy. 
That  the  songs  used  by  the  church  in  her  devotions 
have  no  feeble  influence  upon  her  faith,  we  have 
already  affirmed.  The  fact  is  beyond  question. 
The  notion  of  sacredness  becomes,  in  some  cases, 
attached  to  them.  Their  constant  use  impresses 
them  deeply  upon  the  mind,  and  upon  the  heart. 
Hence,  error  incorporated  in  songs  and  sung  in  de- 
votional exercises,  occupies  the  most  favourable  po- 
sition possible.  Corrupters  of  the  faith  have  over 
understood  this  well;  and,  hence, have  availed  them- 
selves of  the  instrumentality  of  songs  as  a  most  ef- 
fective means  of  propagating  their  erroneous  opi- 
nions. The  Biblical  Repertory,  speaking  of  Bar- 
desanes,  says,  ''The  Gnostic  doctrines  were  poetic, 
and  they  were  made  popular,  and  widely  extended 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  175 

by  the  hymns  and  odes  of  this  heretical  poet,  and 
those  of  his  more  distinguished  son,  Harmonius/'* 
Neander  makes  a  similar  statement  regarding  later 
generations:  "and  as  sectaries  and  heretical  parties 
often  had  recourse  to  church  Pscdmody  to  spread 
their  own  religious  opinions,  all  those  songs  which 
had  not  been  for  a  long  time  in  use  in  the  church, 
were  particularly  liable  to  suspicion.'^  f  And, 
finally,  the  Repertory,  alluding  to  the  partisan  use 
which  the  various  factions  of  the  church  made  of 
song,  says,  "Thus  one  of  the  most  sacred  portions 
of  the  worship  of  the  church  militant,  in  which  it 
was  designed  to  approximate  most  closely  to  the 
services  of  the  church  above,  degenerated  into  the 
mere  watch-word  of  a  party,  and  the  signal  for 
strife  and  controversy.'^ 

We  .can  trace,  not  very  distinctly,  but  with  suf- 
ficient clearness  for  the  purpose  of  admonition  and 
warning,  the  hurtful  workings  of  this  agency  even 
in  the  hands  of  those  esteemed  orthodox.  The  au- 
thor of  the  "Voice  of  the  Christian  Life  in  Song,'' 
thus  speaks  of  the  "Anonymous  Greek  Hymns;" 
"If  any  difference  is  apparent  between  the  theology 
of  these  early  hymns  and  that  of  St.  Paul  and  St. 
Peter,  it  seems  to  be  this:  the  incarnation  and  na- 
tivity of  our  Lord  seem  in  the  hymns  to  fix  the  at- 

*  1829,  p.  530.  t  His.  ii.  318. 


176  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

tention,  rather  than  his  death  and  resurrection. 
The  language  would  perhaps  be  rather^  'I  was  de- 
termined to  know  nothing  among  you,  save  Jesus 
Christ,  and  Him  incarnate/  than,  '1  was  deter- 
mined to  know  nothing  among  you,  save  Jesus 
Christ,  and  Him  crucified/  And  in  som©  mea- 
sure the  results  of  this  difference  may  be  traced. 
There  is  great  rejoicing  in  Christ  as  the  Restorer 
and  Saviour,  great  adoration  of  Him  as  God  mani- 
fest in  the  flesh,  but  perhaps  less  apprehensive  of 
Him  as  the  Redeemer  of  sinners,  the  Lamb  of  God, 
who  has  washed  us  from  our  sins  in  His  own  blood; 
and,  therefore,  less  apprehension  of  the  completeness 
of  the  redemption,  and  the  blessed  security  of  the 
believer,  living  or  dead.  From  this  tendency  to 
make  the  manger,  rather  than  the  cross,  the  centre 
of  the  faith,  prohahly  arose  those  first  misappre- 
hensions of  the  jposition  of  the  Virgin  Mary^  ichich 
aftericards  spread  so  sadly  J'  *  A  perusal  of  these 
''Hymns"  shows  clearly  enough  that  this  is  no 
unfounded  surmise.  The  same  author,  sets  up  a 
token  of  warning  when  speaking  of  the  one  hymn 
of  Clement.""!"  Through  all  the  images  here  so 
quaintly  interwoven,  like  a  stained  window,  of 
which  the  eye  loses  the  design  in  the  complication 
of  colours,  we  may  surely  trace,  as  in  quaint  old 

*  Voice,  &c.,  pp.  27,  28.     f  Clement  lived  at  the  close 
of  the  second  century. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  177 

letters  on  a  scroll  winding  through  all  the  mosaic 
of  tints,  'Christ  in  all/  And  could  the  earliest 
Christian  hymn  bear  a  nobler  inscription?  Yet, 
at  the  same  time,  we  must  remember  that  whilst 
the  truth  of  the  earlj  Christian  writings  bears  pre- 
cious testimony  to  the  Christian  life  of  the  times, 
their  defects  and  mistakes  bear,  by  contrast,  no  less 
valuable  testimony  to  the  inspiration  of  those  ear- 
lier writings  in  which  neither  defect  nor  mistake 
is  found. '^"^ 

Ephraem  Syrus  was  the  great  ''orthodox'^  hymn- 
writer  of  the  fourth  century.  But  who  was  Eph- 
raem ?  A  monk  of  Mesopotamia — perhaps  a  pious 
man,  but  a  believer  in  relics,  in  prayers  to  and  for 
the  dead,  and  in  a  kind  of  purgatory.  The  writer 
from  whom  we  have  just  quoted,  thus  speaks  of 
him:  "His  learning  might  seem  foolishness  to  chil- 
dren among  us,  and  his  theology  may  fall  far  short 
'of  the  fulness  and  simplicity  of  the  apostles'  teach- 
ing; but  his  heart  seems  to  have  been  steeped  in 
the  Gospel  histories;  and,  however  dim  might  have 
been  his  explanation  of  the  way  of  salvation,  in 
those  Gospels  he  surely  found  the  Saviour,  whom 
not  having  seen,  he  loved,  and  in  whom  he  re- 
joiced with  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  re- 
ceiving the  end  of  his  faith,  even  the  salvation  of 
his  soul.'^f 

*  Voice,  &c.,  pp.  45,  46.        f  Ibid.,  pp.  64-55. 


178  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

It  may  be  said^  however,  that  his  hymns  may 
have  been  orthodox — that  his  errors  found  no  place 
in  them — and,  hence,  that  Ephraem  neither  dif- 
fused nor  confirmed  errors  by  his  songs.  We  ad- 
mit that  his  hymns  contain  much  truth — and  often 
beautifully  and  touchingly  expressed.  But  they 
also  contain  more  or  less  of  his  errors.  The  same 
writer — who  admires  him  greatly — says  again, 
"  There  is  also  a  song  of  Ephraem's  about  Para- 
dise, the  feet  of  whose  mountains  the  highest  waves 
of  the  Deluge  could  but  touch  and  kiss,  and  reve- 
rently turn  aside;  where  the  sons  of  light  tread  the 
sea  like  Peter,  and  sail  the  ether  on  their  chariots 
of  cloud.  And  there  is  a  hymn  on  the  Resurrec- 
tion, full  of  beautiful  images,  or  rather  visions;  the 
gates  of  paradise  opening  of  themselves  to  the  just; 
the  guardian  angel  striking  his  harp  as  he  goes 
forth  to  meet  them,  when  'the  Bridegroom  comes 
with  songs  of  joy  from  the  East,  and  the  kingdo^m. 
of  death  is  made  desolate,  as  the  children  of  x\dam 
rise  from  the  dust,  and  soar  to  meet  their  Lord.' 
There  is  mention  also  of  2i  fire  to  he  'passed  through 
ere  paradise  is  reached  (a  fire  not  purgatorial,  but 
testing,)  the  unjust  being  devoured  by  it,  and  the 
just  gliding  through  untouched."*  We  have  here, 
with  some  idle  fancies,  an  allusion  to  a  "fire''  after 

*  Voice,  &c.,  pp.  53-54, 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  179 

death,  that  might  soon,  to  say  the  least,  become 
"purgatorial."     Finally,  wc  present  as  we  find  it 
in  the  pages  of  Dr.  M'M aster,  a  stanza,  from  this 
author,  recommending  prayer  for  the  dead. 
"Behold  our  brother  is  departed 
From  this  abode  of  wo: 
Let  us  pray  in  his  departure 
That  his  guide  may  be  propitious. 
Beatify  him  in  the  mansions  above. 
May  his  eyes  behold  thy  grace. 
Feed  him  with  thy  lambs."* 

These  fanciful  notions  and  erroneous  views,  thus 
incorporated  with  the  hymns  of  so  popular  a  wri- 
ter, could  not  fail  to  work  injury.  True,  the  age 
of  Ephraem  was  one  already  quite  distinctly  marked 
by  the  adoption  of  many  of  the  errors  which  de- 
veloped rapidly  into  the  Papal  apostacy.  It  is 
also  true,  that  this  monk  was  among  the  most  or- 
thodox men  of  his  day  and  place — he  belonged  to 
the  East;  but  all  the  worse,  when  even  he  intro- 
duced into  his  hymns  erroi-s  of  such  a  character. 
His  general  orthodoxy,  and  the  acknowledged  ex- 
cellence of  many  of  his  compositions,  would  give 
countenance,  currency  and  stability,  to  the  false, 
the  fanciful,  and  the  visionary.  Poison  is  all  the 
more  dangerous  when  mixed  with  wholesome  viands. 

When  we  come  nearer  to  our  own  times — the 

*  M'Master,  p.  49. 


180  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

middle  ages,  and  since, — we  find  the  same  agency 
used  to  establish  errors.  In  the  former,  the  monks 
sang,  and  others  sang  with  them,  of  the  "Virgin,'' 
and  of  the  literal  '^ cross,"  &c.  "Long  before  error 
had  been  stereotyped  into  a  creed,  it  has  echoed 
from  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  hymns.  We  need 
only  study  the  sacred  poetry  of  the  middle  ages  to 
understand  why  the  Reformation  was  needed.  One 
painfully  expressive  fact  meets  us  at  the  outset. 
Of  Mone's  ^Collection  of  the  Latin  Hymns  of  the 
Middle  Ages,'  in  three  volumes,  one  is  filled  with 
hymns  to  God  and  the  angels;  one  with  hymns  to 
the  blessed  Virgin  Mary;  and  one  with  hymns  to 
the  saints."  *  In  our  own  day,  what  mean  these 
confused  sounds  from  the  many  denominational 
hymn  books?  Why  such  hymn  books  at  all?  The 
truth  is,  each  embalms  its  peculiar  views  in  song, 
and  so  endeavours  to  give  them  currency  and  per- 
manence. Hence,  nearly  every  fresh  schism  of 
any  magnitude  in  these  bodies,  gives  rise  to  some 
modifications  in  the  "service  of  song." 

That  there  is  danger  attending  the  use  of  unin- 
epired  songs  in  our  days,  ive  infer  from  the  actual 
character  of  a  large  number  of  the  hymns  now  in 
use.  And  this  we  prefer  to  give  in  the  language 
of  a  writer  upon  whom  we  have  already  made  a 

*  Voice,  &c.,  p.  200. 


HYMNS  UNWARRANTED.  181 

draught.  ''The  Plymouth  compiler,  in  his  264th 
hjmn,  offers  to  '  Christian  congregations/  as  a  help 
to  worship,  this  song  to  Mary: 

'  Why  is  thy  face  so  lit  with  smiles, 

Mother  of  Jesus !     Why  ? 
And  wherefore  is  thy  beaming  look 
So  fixed  upon  the  sky,'  &c. 
"Suppose  we  turn  to  the  ^Lyra  Catholica/  and 
from  the  same  composition  add  another  verse: 
'  Why  do  not  thy  sweet  hands  detain 
His  feet  upon  their  way? 
0,  why  doth  not  the  mother  speak, 
And  bid  her  son  to  stay?' 

"What!  In  our  social  and  public  worship  sing 
to  the  Virgin  Mary?  That  were  downright  Po- 
pery. Shades  of  Luther,  Calvin,  Knox!  has  it 
come  to  this?  Were  your  great  labours  in  vain-? 
Take  care,  thou  excited  Protestant.  People  who 
live  in  glass  houses  must  not  throw  stones.  You 
do  in  the  service  of  song,  in  the  house  of  the  Lord, 
just  as  the  Papists  do.  Protestants  and  Papists 
alike  sing  to  creatures.  The  only  difference  be- 
tween them,  in  this  matter,  is  not  one  of  principle, 
but  of  taste.  And  here  they  have  the  advantage 
of  us.  They  have  a  higher  standard.  They  sing 
to  the  angels,  to  the  apostles,  to  Mary,  and  the  no- 
ble army  of  martyrs  and  confessors.  We,  on  the 
contrary,  excluding  these,  except  now  and  then 

16 


182  THE  TRUE   PSALMODY. 

the  angels,  sing  to  all  sorts  of  inferior  creatures, 
and  especially  to  sinners.  These  last  have  a  large 
place  in  our  hymnology.  They  are,  indeed,  highly 
honoured.  We  may  sing  to  them  in  our  worship 
at  pleasure,  though  they  would  crucify  the  Saviour 
afresh.  But  what  a  prodigious  stir  would  there 
be  in  our  churches,  should  we  venture  to  sing  such 
stanzas  as  the  above,  to  Mary!  For  our  part,  we 
condemn  both.^'* 

It  may  be  said,  that  the  most  objectionable 
Jiymns  are  excluded  from  the  devotions  of  the  more 
evangelical  churches.  That  may  be;  but  none  the 
less  are  they  in  the  hands  of  many  professing  Chris- 
tians, and  in  general  circulation:  claiming  a  status 
among  the  sacred  songs  of  the  age,  and  doing  their 
part  towards  moulding  its  views. 

If  we  would  occupy  safe  ground,  let  us  keep  to 
the  "Psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs '*  of 
the  word  of  God.  These  are  pure — in  them,  is 
no  error.  Thei/  will  never  contribute  any  thing  to 
the,  already  sufficiently  extended,  injQuences  that 
tend  to  mislead  the  minds  and  corrupt  the  hearts  of 
sinful  men. 

In  some  of  these  arguments  we  may  find  reasons 
ample  to  vindicate  the  divine  wisdom  and  good- 
ness in  linking  the  '^service  of  song"  in  the  house 

^  S.  D.,  in  the  Presbyterian,  Dec.  11th,  1858. 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE.  183 

of  God,  with  an  inspired  manual.  To  give  license 
here  to  human  ingenuity,  hazards  the  interests  of 
ti'uth  and  purity;  tends  to  confirm  disunion;  fos- 
ters a  worldly  taste  and  undue  fondness  for  mere 
vocal  or  instrumental  melody;  inflicts  upon  the 
church  the  evil  of  an  insatiate  desire  of  novelty 
and  change:  and  may  even  put  an  end,  as  it  has 
already  done  so  extensively,  to  the  joint  and  hearty 
co-operation  of  "all  the  people''  in  the  exercise  and 
ordinance  of  praise. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  SUITABLENESS  OF  THE  PSALMS  FOR  NEW 
TESTAMENT  WORSHIP,  AND  THEIR  USE,  VIN- 
DICATED AGAINST  OBJECTIONS. 

The  necessity  for  such  a  vindication  of  the  in- 
spired Psalms,  is  certainly  to  be  regretted.  The 
very  fact  of  their  inspiration,  should  be,  of  itself, 
an  answer  to  nearly  every  objection,  and  their  ac- 
knowledged excellence  (see  Chapter  I.)  should  be 
ample  for  the  refutation  of  others.  Our  task  here 
is  rather  an  ungracious  one,  but  must  be  under- 
taken, inasmuch  as  those  who  use  hymns,  not  sa- 
tisfied with  claiming  a  license  to  make  and  employ 
uninspired  compositions  in  divine  worship,  have 
used  no  little  ingenuity  in  the  discovery  of  objec- 


184  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

tions  to  the  employment  of  the  Pscalms  of  the  Bi- 
ble in  celebrating  the  praises  of  God  in  our  devo- 
tions. Some  of  these  objections  may  bear  more 
directly  upon  their  exclusive  use — some  of  them 
may  be  urged  by  those  who  after  all  admit  the  pro- 
priety of  their  use  with  some  exceptions  and  modi- 
fications; some  of  them,  as  we  shall  see,  go  much 
farther,  and  assail  the  Psalms  themselves. 

I.  It  is  said  that  the  Psalms  speak  of  a  Saviour 
to  come,  and,  hence,  are  not  suitable,  nor  designed 
to  be  used  since  His  advent.  We  might  satisfy 
ourselves  here  with  the  reply,  that  the  use  of  the 
Psalms,  by  almost  universal  acknowledgment, 
^'passed  over  to  the  New  Testament  Church:'^  in 
other  words,  that  they  were  used  in  the  apostolic 
church,  and,  of  course,  with  apostolic  sanction. 
This  has  already  been  amply  shown:  and  also,  that 
in  the  best  and  purest  times,  the  Psalms  have  been 
held  in  the  highest  estimation  as  the  matter  of  the 
church's  praise  in  song:  and  that  in  every  age 
they  have  been  read  and  studied  with  singular  sa- 
tisfaction and  edification  by  the  most  eminent  saints 
of  God.  By  considerations  such  as  these,  we  would 
confute  this  objection;  so  far,  at  least,  as  it  em- 
braces a  conclusion  adverse  to  the  use  of  the  Psalms 
under  this  dispensation.  We  prefer,  however,  to 
meet  the  objection — premises  and  all — directly, 
in  the   words  of  Dr.  Pressly: — "It  is  taken  for 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  185 

granted,  in  the  objection,  that  if  in  the  Psahiis, 
the  church  praises  God  for  a  Redeemer  to  come, 
therefore  they  are  not  suitable  for  the  cliurcli  now, 
since  he  has  come.  But  it  so  happens,  that  every 
where  in  the  Psalms,  the  Redeemer  of  tlie  church 
is  presented  to  the  view  of  our  faith,  not  as  one 
who  should  appear  in  some  distant  age,  but  as  al- 
ready engaged  in  the  accomplishment  of  his  Me- 
diatorial work.  In  the  22d  Psalm,  the  Redeemer 
is  exhibited  before  our  eyes,  as  suffering  in  the 
garden  and  on  the  cross;  and  we  hear  him  utter- 
ing the  very  words  which  dropped  from  his  lips 
while  suspended  upon  the  cross: — 'My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?'  Again,  he  is 
presented  to  our  view,  as  having  triumphed  over 
death  and  the  grave,  and  having  ascended  on  high; 
angels,  principalities  and  powers,  being  made  sub- 
ject to  him.  And  the  church  praises  him,  not  as. 
a  promised  Saviour,  but  as  an  ascendant  and  trium- 
phant Ptedeemer: — 'Thou  hast  ascended  on  high, 
thou  hast  led  captivity  captive,  thou  hast  received 
gifts  for  men;  yea,  for  the  rebellious  also,  that  the 
Lord  God  might  dwell  among  them.^  (Ps.  Ixviii.  18.) 
Permit  me  now  to  call  the  attention  of  the  ob- 
jector to  a  difficulty  in  which  his  principle  involves 
him.  If  it  were  true  that  the  Psalms  speak  of  a  Sa- 
viour to  come,  and  therefore  are  not  suited  to  gospel 
worship,  then  those  numerous  psalms  which  speak 
16-^ 


186  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

of  a  suffering,  risen  and  ascended  Saviour,  were  not 
suited  to  tlie  worship  of  the  Old  Testament  church, 
because  the  Redeemer  had  not  then  appeared  in 
human  nature.  That  is,  though  these  psalms  were 
given  to  the  church  by  the  God  of  infinite  wisdom, 
to  be  employed  in  his  worship,  they  were  not  adapt- 
ed to  the  end  for  which  they  were  given!  0  vaia 
man,  who  art  thou  that  repliest  against  God? 

"But  is  it  true,  that  the  Psalms  present  the  Sa- 
viour to  the  view  of  our  faith,  as  one  who  was  yet 
to  come  ?  Is  it  really  so,  my  Christian  reader, 
permit  me  respectfully  to  ask, — is  it  the  truth  that 
in  the  Psalms  given  to  the  church  under  the  Old 
Testament,  she  praised  God  for  a  promised  Re- 
deemer, who  had  not  yet  come  ?  It  is  true  that  these 
Psalms  were  composed  long  before  the  actual  ap- 
pearance of  Jesus  Christ  in  human  nature.  But 
it  is  no  less  true  that  these  divine  songs  are  the 
productions  of  that  omniscient  Spirit,  before  whose 
view  all  futurity  is  spread  out,  and  things  which 
were  then  future,  are  described  by  him  as  now 
taking  place,  or  already  past.  For  example,  in  the 
22d  Psalm,  we  hear  our  suffering  Redeemer  ex- 
Iclaiming,  'I  am  poured  out  like  water,  and  all  my 
bones  are  out  of  joint;  my  heart  is  like  wax;  it  is 
melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels.  The  assembly 
of  the  wicked  have  enclosed  me;  they  pierced  my 
hands  and  my  feet.^     Again :  This  same  glorious 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  187 

personage  is  presented  to  our  view,  as  exalted  upon 
the  holy  hill  of  Zion,  in  the  character  of  God's 
anointed  King,  and  proclaiming  defiance  to  the 
opposers  of  his  kingdom:  *Why  do  the  heathen 
rag'c,  and  the  people  imagine  a  vain  thing?'  Again, 
he  is  described  as  coming  to  judgment,  and  all  na- 
ture is  summoned  to  pay  obeisance  to  him:  'Let 
the  heavens  rejoice,  and  let  the  earth  be  glad  be- 
fore the  Lord,  for  he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth; 
he  shall  judge  the  world  with  righteousness,  and 
the  people  with  his  truth/  If  the  principle  as- 
sumed in  the  objection  were  well  founded,  that 
psalms  which  exhibit  a  promised  Saviour,  who  is  yet 
to  come,  are  not  suited  to  gospel  worship,  it  would 
then  follow  that  a  large  portion  of  the  psalms  are 
better  adapted  to  the  worship  of  the  church  now, 
than  they  were  formerly;  for  in  them,  the  Re- 
deemer is  described  as  already  come,  a  man  of  sor- 
rows and  acquainted  with  grief;  as  having  risen 
from  the  dead;  as  having  ascended  on  high,  and 
as  having  received  gifts  for  men.  But  the  truth 
is,  there  is  no  force  in  the  objection  at  all.  Ever 
since  the  first  promise  of  a  Saviour  was  given  to 
our  lost  world,  Jesus  Christ  has  been  the  only  hope 
of  sinful  man.  By  faith  in  him,  as  exhibited  to 
them  upon  the  infallible  testimony  of  God,  be- 
lievers were  saved  under  the  Old  Testament;  and 
it  is  by  faith  in  him,  as  revealed  to  us  upon  the 


188  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

testimony  of  God  in  the  gospel,  tliat  believers  now 
are  saved.  The  merit  of  the  Saviour's  death  was 
as  effectual  in  securing  the  salvation  of  the  be- 
liever, before  he  actually  laid  down  his  life  a  ran- 
som for  many,  as  it  is  now.  And  those  divine 
songs,  in  which  his  Spirit  taught  the  church  to 
praise  him,  before  the  period  of  his  incarnation, 
are,  in  all  respects,  as  well  adapted  to  the  edifica- 
tion of  the  church  now,  as  they  were  in  the  begin- 
ning. Not  only  so — I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that 
they  are  now  better  adapted  to  this  end,  as,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  light  which  the  gospel  has  reflected 
upon  them,  the  fulness  of  their  meaning  may  be 
more  thoroughly  understood.'** 

II.  It  is  said  that  the  Psalms  are  encumbered  and 
obscured  by  Old  Testament  allusions  and  phrase- 
ology. Is  this  so?  Most  assuredly  it  is  not.  The 
entire  statement  is  untenable.  "We  take  for  granted 
that  the  objection  is  not  intended  to  bear  against 
the  record  which  the  Psalms  contain  of  God's  gra- 
cious providence  towards  his  church  of  old.  The 
historical  Psalms  are  as  suitable  now  as  ever  for  the 
service  of  praise.  The  facts  recorded,  and  the 
power,  energy,  faithfulness  and  wisdom  of  God,  as 
the  Redeemer  and  King  of  his  church,  which  these 
facts  illustrate  and  magnify,  are  as  appropriate  to- 

*  Dr.  Pressly  on  Psalmody,  pp.  93-96 


PSALMS  UNOBJECTIONABLE.  189 

pics  of  praise  in  the  heart  and  upon  the  lips  of  the 
New  Testament  worshipper,  as  ever  they  were. 

As  to  sacrifices  and  offerings,  these  are  rarely 
alluded  to  in  the  Psalms,  and  in  some  of  these  in- 
stances they  are  only  alluded  to  in  the  way  of  as- 
serting their  inefficacy.  Omitting  such  phrases  as 
"sacrifices  of  joyfulness/'  of  "thankfulness/'  of 
"righteousness/'  which  can  give  rise  to  no  diffi- 
culty whatever,  we  find  but  five  Psalms— ^other 
than  historical — in  which  any  reference  is  made  to 
this  part  of  the  ceremonial  service — nine,  or  rather 
seven  allusions  in  all — some  of  them  being  mere 
repetitions  in  the  same  verse.  Of  these,  three  or 
four  are  introduced  accompanied  by  the  assertion 
of  their  absolute  inefficacy.  As  to  the  remainder, 
we  direct  the  reader  to  the  following  remarks  from 
the  pen  of  Dr.  Pressly.  "  What,  I  would  ask,  was 
the  meaning  of  the  true  worshipper  under  the  law, 
when  he  came  before  God  with  such  language  as 
that  employed  in  this  psalm?  (the  66th.)  Did  he 
depend  upon  the  sacrifices  of  fatlings,  of  bullocks 
or  of  goats,  for  acceptance  with  God  ?  Most  cer- 
tainly he  did  not.  Through  the  medium  of  these 
bloody  sacrifices,  he,  in  the  exercise  of  faith,  looked 
to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sins  of 
the  world.  He  depended  for  acceptance  with  God, 
upon  the  same  great  Sacrifice  for  sin  which  is  now 
the  foundation  of  the  Christian's  hope.     If  then, 


190  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

the  ancient  believer  could  approach  unto  God  ac- 
ceptably in  the  use  of  such  a  song;  if;  while  he  had 
before  the  eye  of  his  body,  a  bleeding  lamb,  he  had 
presented  to  the  eye  of  his  faith,  the  Lamb  of  God; 
if  the  language  of  such  a  song,  raised  in  his  breast 
pious  affections,  and  aided  devotion,  why  should 
such  expressions,  and  sucli  language  'sink  our  de- 
votion and  hurt  our  worship,'  since  we  have  the 
light  of  the  gospel  to  render  their  import  more  in- 
telligible?    If  these  and  similar  expressions,  did 
not   'bedarken   the  thoughts'  of  the   ancient'  be- 
liever, and  hide  the  Saviour  from  his  sight,  why 
should  they  have  on  us  so  injurious  an  effect?     If 
such  language  served  to  lead  the  ancient  Israelite 
to  Him  who  is  the  (desire  of  all  nations,)  why  may 
it  not  now  raise  the  thoughts  of  the  humble  Chris- 
tian, surrounded  as  he  is  with  clearer  light,  to  Him 
who  is  the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to 
every  one  that  believeth?"* 

Mention  is  made,  occasionally,  of  musical  instru- 
ments used  in  the  Jewish  temple  service.  Similar 
language  is  used,  moreover,  in  the  Book  of  Reve- 
lation, which  speaks  (chap.  v.  8,  xx.  2,)  of  the  re- 
deemed ashaving'Oiarps  in  their  hands;  "  Of  course 
this  language  cannot  be  taken  literally:  it  must  be 
figurative,  and  shows  clearly  that  the  allusions  to 

*  PresslYv  105,  106. 


PSALMS   UNOBJECIIONABLE.  191 

instruments  of  music  in  the  Psalms  ran  j  be  appro- 
priated ])y  the  worshipper  now  in  the  same  sense 
in  which  we  explain  these  of  the  visions  oT  the  Ee- 
velation:  as  expressive  of  the  liveliness  which 
should  ever  characterize  the  spiritual  emotions  and 
services  of  the  saints  of  God. 

If  countries,  nations,  mountains,  &c.,  are  men- 
tioned, as  they  occasionally  are  in  the  Psalms — 
either  these  are  but  specimens,  or  they  are  used 
synecdochically,  a  part  for  the  whole;  or  to  invest 
the  song  with  life  and  spirit,  upon  a  well-known 
principle,  recognised  by  all  the  schools  of  rhetoric 
— particular  objects  put  for  general  and  abstract 
statements;  while  many  of  these  objects,  moreover, 
were  typical  of  spiritual  things. 

The  truth  is,  no  objection  could  be  more  ground- 
less than  this  one.  The  Psalms  are  singularly 
characterized  by  their  adaptation  to  all  times  and 
lands.  They  are  manifestly  designed  for  all  times 
and  lands.  They  anticipate  a  time  when  all  lands 
shall  join  in  the  worship  of  God,  Creator,  Redeemer, 
King.  They  have  in  them  very  little  of  the  tem- 
ple. The  Xew  Testament  itself,  is  almost  as  open 
to  this  objection  as  the  Psalms.  Mr.  Sommerville 
thus  pertinently  discusses  the  matter  in  this  aspect: 
''The  use  of  terms  borrowed  from  the  ancient  eco- 
nomy, is  authorized  by  the  example  of  New  Testa- 
ment writers.     They  describe  the  character,  duties, 


192  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

the  worship,  and  the  privileges  of  Christians  in  the 
language  of  the  people  of  Israel.  The  consistency 
of  the  language  of  the  Psalms  with  the  spirit  and 
the  institutions  of  the  present  time,  will  appear 
from  the  subsequent  parallelism,  suggested  by  a 
comparison  of  the  terms  employed  by  the  penmen 
of  the  Psalms  with  those  introduced  in  the  New 
Testament:  unless  it  should  be  said  that  there  is 
something  ^Jewish  and  cloudy'  in  the  writings  of 
Christ  and  his  Apostles,  which  is  removed  by  the 
more  lucid  modes  of  speech  which  some  of  their 
more  spiritual  followers  may  teach  us  to  use: — 

PSALMS.  NEW  TESTAMENT. 

Ps.  xlvi.  4.  There  is  a  Heb.  xii.  22.  But  ye  are 
river,  the  streams  of  which  come  unto  mount  Zion,  and 
shall  make  glad  the  city  of  unto  the  city  of  the  living 
G^oc?,  the  holy  place  of  the  ta-  God,  the  heavenly  Jerwsa- 
bernaclee  of  the  Most  High.  levi.  Rom,  ix.  6,  7,  8.  They 
xlviii.  2.  Beautiful  for  situ-  are  not  all  Israel  which  are 
tion,  the  joy  of  the  whole  of  Israel:  neither,  because 
earth,  is  Mount  Zion,  on  the  they  are  the  seed  of  Ahra- 
sides  of  the  north,  the  city  ham,  are  they  all  children: 
of  the  great  king.  li.  18.  but,  in  Isaac  shall  thy  seed 
Do  good  in  thy  good  plea-  be  called.  That  is,  they 
sure  unto  Zion :  build  thou  which  are  the  children  of 
the  walls  of  Jerusalem,  liii.  the  flesh,  these  are  not  the 
6.  Oh  that  the  salvation  of  children  of  God:  \i\x\.ihQ  chil- 
Isracl^Qxe  come  out  of  Zion!  dren  of  the  promise  are  count- 
When  God  bringeth  back  the  ed  for  the  se^ff.     Gal.  vi.  16. 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE. 


193 


captivity  of  hisjoco;??^,  Jacob 
shall  rejoice,and  Israel  shall 
be  glad. 

Ps.  xxvii.  4.  One  thing 
have  I  desired  of  the  Lord, 
that  will  I  seek  after;  that 
I  may  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  all  the  days  of  my 
life,  to  behold  the  beauty  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  inquire  in 
his  Temple,  xlviii.  9.  We 
have  thought  of  thy  loving- 
kindness.  0  God,  in  the  midst 
of  thy  Temple,  lii.  8.  But  I 
am  like  a  green  olive  tree  iu 
the  house  of  God. 

Ps.liv.3.  For  sir  angers  are 
risen  up  against  me,  and  op- 
pressors seek  after  my  soul. 
cxxxvii.  4.  How  shall  we 
sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a 
strange  land ! 

Ps.  cvi.  4,  5.  Remember 
me,  0  Lord,  with  the  favour 
that  thou  bearest  unto  thy 
people :  0  visit  me  with  thy 
salvation:  that  I  may  see 
the  good  of  thy  chosen,  that 
I  may  rejoice  in  the  glad- 
ness of  thy  nation,  that  I 
may  glory  with  thine  inheri- 

17 


Peace  be  on  them,  and  upon 
the  Israel  of  God. 

Jno.ii.  19.  Jesus  answered 
and  said  unto  them,  Destroy 
this  templs,  and  in  three 
days  I  will  raise  it  up.  1 
Cor.  iii.  16.  Know  ye  not 
that  ye  are  the  temple  of 
God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of 
Goddwellethinyou?  ITim. 
iii.  15.  That  thou  mayest 
know  how  thou  oughtest  to 
behave  thyself  in  the  house 
of  God,  which  is  the  church 
of  the  living  God. 

Eph.  ii.  19.  Now,  there- 
fore, ye  ai'e  no  more  strangers 
Q.VL(i  foreigners,  but  fellow- ci- 
tizens with  the  saints,  and 
of  the  household  of  God. 

1  Peter  ii.  9.  But  ye  are 
a  chosen  generation,  a  royal 
priesthood,  a  holy  nation^ 
a  peculiar  people;  that  ye 
should  show  forth  the  praises 
of  him  who  hath  calleiJ  you. 
Col.  i.  12.  Giving  thanks 
unto  the  Father,  which  hath 
made  us  meet  to  be  par- 


194 


THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 


tance.  cxxxii.  9.  Let  thy 
vriests\)Q  clothed  with  right- 
eousness, cxlviii.  14.  He 
also  exalteth  the  horn  of 
his  people,  the  praise  of  all 
his  saints ;  even  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  a  people  near 
unto  him. 

Ps.  xlii.  4.  "When  I  re- 
member these  things,  I  pour 
out  my  soul  in  me:  for  I  had 
gone  with  the  multitude,  I 
•went  with  them  to  the  house 
of  God,  with  the  voice  of  joy 
and  praise,  with  a  multitude 
that  kept  holy  day.  cxxii. 
3,  4.  Jerusalem  is  builded  as 
a  city  that  is  compact  toge- 
ther: whither  the  tribes  go 
up,  the  tribes  of  the  Lord, 
unto  the  testimony  of  Israel, 
to  give  thanks  unto  the  name 
of  the  Lord.  For  there  are 
set  thrones  of  judgment,  the 
thrones  of  the  house  of  David. 


Ps.  1.  5.  Gather  my  saints 
together  unto  me;  those  that 
have  made  a  covenant  with 


takers  of  the  inheritance  of 
the  saints  in  light. 


Eph.  i.  10.  That  in  the 
dispensation  of  the  fulness 
of  times,  he  might  gather 
together  in  one  all  things  in 
Christ,  both  which  are  in 
heaven,  and  which  are  on 
earth;  even  in  him.  Heb. 
xii.  Ye  are  come  unto  the 
heavenly  Jerusalem,  and  to 
an  innumerable  company  of 
angels,  to  the  general  assem- 
bly and  church  of  the  first 
born,  which  are  written  in 
heaven,  to  God  the  judge  of 
all,  and  to  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  and  to 
Jesus  the  INIediator  of  the 
New  Covenant.  Luke  i.  32. 
The  Lord  God  shall  give 
unto  him  (Jesus)  the  throne 
of  his  father  David. 

Eom.  xii.  1.  I  beseech 
you,  brethren,  by  the  mer- 
cies of  God,  thatye  present 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE 


195 


your  bodies  a  living  sacrifice, 
holy,  acceptable  unto  God. 
1  Pet.  ii.  5.  Ye  also,  as 
living  stones,  are  built  up  a 
spiritual  house,  an  holy 
priesthood,  to  offer  up  spi- 
ritual sacrifices,  acceptable 
to  God  hy  Jesus  Christ. 
Heb.  xiii.  10.  We  have  an 
altar  whereof  they  have  no 
right  to  eat  who  serve  the 
tabernacle. 

Rev.  xvii.  5.  And  upon  her 
forehead  was  a  name  writ- 
ten. Mystery,  Bahylon,  the 
great,  the  mother  of  harlots, 
and  abominations  of  the 
earth.  xviii.  20.  Rejoice, 
over  her,  thou  heaven,  and 
ye  holy  Apostles  and  Pro- 
phets; for  G^ocZhath  avenged 
you  on  her. 

"Before  a  comparison  of  the  mode  of  expression 
used  in  the  Psalms  with  that  which  is  found  in 
the  New  Testament,  every  objection  to  the  use  of 
the  Songs  of  Zion,  on  account  of  the  frequent  al- 
lusions which  they  contain  to  the  nature  and  cir- 
cumstances of  the  religious  institutions  of  Israel, 
vanishes.  It  is  not  intended  to  make  the  impres- 
sion that  there  is  no  allusion  to  the  types  in  the 
Book  of  Tsalms,  which  is  not  found  introduced  by 


me  hy  sacrifice.  Ixvi.  15.  I 
will  offer  unto  thee  burnt  sa- 
crifices of  fat  lings,  with  the 
incense  of  rams;  I  will  offer 
bullocks  with  goats,  cxviii. 
27,  Bind  the  sacrifice  with 
cords,  even  unto  the  horns 
of  ihQ  altar,  xliii.  4.  Then 
will  I  go  to  the  allar  of  God, 
unto  God  my  exceedingjoy. 


Ps.  cxxxvii.  1,  8.  By  the 
rivers  of  Babylon,  there  we 
sat  down,  yea,  we  wept  when 
we  remembered  Zion.  0 
daughter  of  Babylon,  who 
art  to  he  destroyed;  happy 
shall  HE  be  that  rewardeth 
thee,  as  thou  hast  served  us. 


196  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

Christ  and  his  Apostles  to  describe  spiritual  things. 
But  we  find  them  using  figurative  language  de- 
rived from  all  the  leading  and  primary  characters 
of  the  former  economy;  and  in  this  they  furnish 
an  evidence  of  the  correctness  and  consistency  of 
Christians,  putting  the  name  of  the  type  to  ex- 
press the  thing  tj/jjijied."  *  Finally,  even  Dr. 
Watts  himself — who  seems  to  have  originated  this 
objection,  and  certainly  has  stated  it  most  strongly, 
has  the  following : 

"Before  thine  altar,  Lord, 
My  harp  and  song  shall  sound 
The  glories  of  thy  -word." 

III.  It  is  said  that  the  Psalms  are  not  adapted  to  a 
season  of  religious  reviving.  This  objection  could 
scarcely  be  offered  by  one  acquainted  with  the 
Psalms  themselves,  and  with  their  history.  We 
have  already  asserted  and  shown  that  the  Psalms 
do  give  expression  to  the  liveliest  Christian  emo- 
tions and  affections — that  they  have  been  singularly 
esteemed  and  loved;  habitually  read,  and  studied, 
and  sung,  by  many  of  the  most  spiritually-minded 
and  devoted  of  the  servants  and  ministers  of  Christ. 
Surely,  the  Apostolic  church  was  a  living  and  ac- 
tive church,  but  it  is  acknowledgecl  that  the  Psalms 
were  then  sung;  and  so  fiir  as  the  evidence  goes, 

*  Sommerville,  pp.  24-27. 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  197 

no  other  religious  songs.  The  Waldenses  sang 
the  Psalms  and  nothing  else  in  their  Alpine  val- 
leys; and  in  their  seasons  of  persecution  found  in 
these  inspired  Psalms,  strength  and  hope.  The 
French  church,  and  the  churches  of  Switzerland, 
used  nothing  else  in  song,  during  the  palmiest  days 
of  their  religious  life;  while  these  sacred  songs 
contributed  no  little  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel.* 
These  Psalms  constituted  the  only  Psalmody  of 
the  Scottish  church  in  her  first  and  second  Refor- 


*  The  following  is  taken  from  Lorimer's  "Protestant 
Church  in  France,"  p.  19,  Phila.  ed.  "In  1535,  the 
Scriptures  were  translated  into  the  French  language,  by 
Olivetan  the  uncle  of  the  celebrated  Calvin,  and  shortly- 
after  the  Psalms  of  David  were  turned  into  verse  by  one 
of  the  popular  poets  of  the  day,  and  set  to  melodious  mu- 
sic. This  last  undertaking  was  attended  with  remark- 
able success.  There  had  been  nothing  of  this  kind  be- 
fore, and  so  the  whole  music  of  the  people  was  perverted 
to  sinful  and  superstitious  purposes.  Now,  the  national 
genius  was  enlisted  on  the  side  of  truth.  "  This  holy 
ordinance,'  says  Quick,  'charmed  the  ears,  heart  and  af- 
fections of  court  and  city,  town  and  country.'  This  one 
ordinance  alone,  contributed  mightily  to  the  downfall  of 
Popery  and  the  propagation  of  the  gospel.  *  -^^  *  No 
gentleman  professing  the  Reformed  religion  would  sit 
down  at  his  table  without  praising  God  by  singing.  Yea, 
it  -was  an  especial  part  of  their  morning  and  evening  wor- 
ship to  sing  God's  praises." 

17* 


198  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

mations.  These  were  the  songs  whose  melody  was 
heard  in  the  cottages,  in  the  glens,  in  the  moors, 
and  on  the  mountains,  and  often  on  the  scuffold 
and  at  the  stake,  in  the  dark  days  of  Scottish  per- 
secution.  In  these  Psalms,  the  multitudes  who 
waited  upon  the  preaching  of  Livingston,  celebrated 
Grod's  praises  in  that  day  of  the  Lord's  power  when 
five  hundred  souls  were  converted  by  means  of  one 
sermon  at  the  Kirk  of  Shotts.  The  thousands  who 
turned  to  the  Lord,  flocking  as  "doves  to  their 
windows"  during  the  season  of  genuine  and  exten- 
sive reviving  subsequent  to  that  day,  used  none 
but  Bible  Psalms.  These  Psalms  were  the  sacred 
songs  of  the  revived  church  in  Irehmd,  in  the  days 
of  the  Bruces,  the  Welshes,  the  Blnirs,  the  Cun- 
ninghams, and  Livingstons,  when  lirge  districts 
were  aroused  and  turned,  almost  as  one  man,  to 
God.*  The  early  Presbyterians  of  this  country, 
used  none  other,  during  those  ''golden  days,  when 
souls  were  enlightened  with  such  a  knowledge  of 
Christ,  as  if  the  light  of  the  sun  had  been  seven 
fold,  as  if  the  light  of  seven  days  had  poured  at 
once  on  tlie  worshipper  with  healing  in  every 
beara."-|- 

The  Bible  Psalms  are  adapted  to  any  season  of 

*  Reid's  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ire- 
land,        f  Webster's  History,  p.  ]24. 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE.  199 

genuine  reviving  of  religion.  They  bavc  been  tried. 
They  have  never  been  found  wanting.  The  revi- 
ral  to  which  these  Psalms  are  not  adapted,  should 
itself  be  suspected. 

IV.  It  is  said  that  the  Psalms  are  difl&cult  to 
understand;  and,  perhaps,  it  may.be  insinuated  that 
this  is  Yirtually  acknowledged  by  some  wlio  use 
them,  inasmuch  as  they  formally  explain  thorn  in 
their  public  exercises.  This  is  an  objection  which 
we  would  not  be  surprised  to  find  in  the  mouth  of 
a  Papist,  who  on  this  alleged  ground,  refuses  the 
Bible  to  the  common  people,  and  refers  them  to 
what  he  styles  the  plainer  and  safer  teaching  of  a 
priest:  but  we  would  hardly  have  looked  for  it  from 
any  one,  who,  as  a  Protestant,  holds  that  the  Bible 
is  not  an  unintelligible  book.  We  admit,  indeed, 
that  the  Psalms,  in  common  with  other  scriptures, 
are  characterized  by  an  inexhaustible  fulness  of 
meaning:  but  we  deny  that  they  are^  in  any  pecu- 
liar degree,  hard  to  understand.  The  truth  is, 
they  are  much  more  intelligible  than  many  other 
portions  of  the  Bible. — They  present  fewer  difficult 
passages — scarcely  any  in  fact;  and  in  the  main, 
are  singularly  clear.  They  have  ever  been  favourite 
reading:  the  pious  have  enjoyed  them  with  a 
special  relish.  They  have  found  none  of  this  as- 
serted obscurity  in  these  sacred  songs,  but  rather 
an  unusual,  and,  generally,  transparent   clearness, 


200  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

■while  the  less  studious,  or  thoughtful,  or  spiritual, 
alone  complain  that  they  are  obscure.  We  quote 
with  satisfaction  the  following  judgment  of  the  dis- 
tinguished Dr.  Horsley:  "Of  all  the  books  of  the 
Old  Testament,  the  book  of  Psalms  is  the  most 
■universally  read;  but,  I  fear,  as  little  as  any  under- 
stood. This  cannot  be  ascribed  to  any  extraor- 
dinary obscurity  of  these  sacred  songs;  for  of  all 
the  prophetic  parts  of  the  Scriptures  they  are  cer- 
tainly the  most  perspicuous.  But  it  is  owing, 
partly,  I  fear,  to  some  dulness  of  the  faculties  of 
the  natural  man  upon  spiritual  subjects. — There  is 
not  a  page  of  this  book  of  Psalms  in  which  the 
pious  reader  will  not  find  his  Saviour,  if  he  reads 
with  a  vieto  of  finding  him;  and  it  was  but  a  just 
encomium  of  it  that  came  from  the  pen  of  one  of 
the  early  Fathers,  that  it  is  a  com.plete  system  of 
divinity  for  the  use  and  edification  of  the  common 
people  of  the  Christian  church/^*  Scott  the  dis- 
tinguished commentator  says,  "There  is  nothing 
in  true  religion,  doctrinal,  experimental  and  prac- 
tical, but  will  present  itself  to  our  attention  while 
we  meditate  upon  the  Psalms.  And  hardly  an 
occasion  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  can  be  con- 
ceived, to  which  some  portion  of  them,  faiths 
fully  rendered  in  poetical  versions,  may  not  be  ap- 

*  Quoted  by  M'Master,  p.  131. 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE.  201 

plied  with  peculiar  energy  and  propriety:  and  in- 
deed the  Christian's  use  of  them  in  the  closet,  and 
the  minister's  in  the  pulpit,  will  generally  increase 
with  the  growing  experience  of  the  power  of  true 
religion  in  their  own  hearts.^' ^  A  correspondent 
of  the  "Presbyterian  Magazine/'  bears  like  testi- 
mony. "  The  very  excellence  of  the  book  of  Psalms 
has — in  this — its  effect.  Their  depth  of  matter, 
their  spirituality,  their  sublimity,  their  transcend- 
ent elevation  of  devotion,  raise  them  above  the 
comprehension,  and  above  the  standard  of  devo- 
tional feeling  of  ordinary  Christians.  It  is  a  fact, 
that  Christians  of  deficient  attainments  often  find 
themselves  more  edified  in  reading  other  books  than 
the  Bible,  and  really  relish  them  more.  But  the 
higher  Christians  rise  in  gracious  experience,  the 
higher  is  their  esteem  for  the  pure  word  of  God, 
until  at  length,  every  human  production  becomes 
insipid  in  comparison  therewith.  As  it  certainly  can 
have  no  good  effect  to  promote  in  the  public  mind, 
a  preference  of  other  books,  to  the  Bible,  so  it  is 
conceived  there  can  no  good  effects  arise  from  pro- 
moting in  the  public  taste  a  preference  of  other 
compositions  to  the  Psalms  the  Holy  Spirit  hath 
inspired. "f 

*  Preface  to  Psalms,     f  Presbyterian  Magazine,  July 
1822,  quoted  by  M 'Master. 


202  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

As  to  the  exposition  of  the  Psalms,  if  this  is  an 
acknowledgment  of  such  obscurity  in  the  Psalms 
as  is  impenetrable  to  ordinary  intellect,  why  not  ap- 
ply the  same  principle  to  other  Scriptures?  to  the 
Sermon  on  the  mount?  to  the  Ten  Commandments? 
to  the  Lord's  Prayer?  These  are  explained — and 
re-explained,  in  every  pulpit;  but  who  imagines 
that  he  is  confessing,  while  engaged  in  such  an  ex- 
ercise, that  the  Bible  is  unintelligible?  These  ex- 
positions are  all  ^^ helps:"  they  aid  the  reader;  the 
inquiring;  the  Christian.  And  so  with  the  "Ex- 
plaining of  the  Psalms:"  it  is  designed  as  a  help  to 
the  better  understanding  of  the  Psalms,  and  to 
quicken  the  mind  and  heart,  as  the  worshipper  is 
about  to  enter  upon  the  exercise  of  praise.  Yet, 
even  this  is  entered  upon  but  rarely,  compared  with 
the  whole  number  of  times  the  Psalms  are  sung. 
Finally,  if  there  be  in  the  Psalms  a  depth  of  mean- 
ing— if  there  be  some  parts  of  them  requiring  in- 
vestigation, this  is  a  reason  for  the  careful  study 
of  them — a  reason  for  endeavouring  to  bring  up 
the  Christian  intelligence  to  a  higher  level,  and  not 
a  reason  for  degrading  the  exercise  of  praise  to  the 
level  of  the  heedless  and  uninquiring  capacity. 

V.  It  is  said,  that  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  un- 
suitable for  the  use  of  children.  If  so  now,  it 
must  have  been  fully  as  much  so,  at  the  least, 
when  God  gave  it  to  his  church.     Besides,  what- 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  203 

e^er  force  there  may  be  iu  this  objection,  the 
Esalms  share  with  the  rest  of  the  word  of  God. 
Part  of  both  are  intelligible,  not  to  infants,  but  to 
children  of  some  development  and  education;  and- 
as  they  grow  in  ability  and  wisdom,  and,  of  course, 
more  capable  of  understanding  the  scriptures,  they 
become  better  acquainted  also  with  the  Psalms. 
The  children  of  the  Jews,  of  the  Apostolic  church, 
of  the  French,  Swiss  and  Holland  Reformed,  of 
our  Scottish  forefathers — were  not  compai-atively 
deficient  in  Christian  knowledge:  nor  are  the  chil- 
dren of  the  Psalm-singing  churches  now.  None 
of  them  have  lost  anything  by  the  want  of  little 
religious  songs.  Instead,  their  minds  were  and 
are  strengthened  by  early  familiarity  with  songs  so 
superior  in  acknowledged  excellence. 

We  go  further.  We  deny  that  the  Psalms  are 
uninteresting  to  the  young.  Many  of  them — as 
thousands  can  testify — are  highly  attractive,  and 
become,  from  an  early  age,  imprinted  upon  the 
hearts  of  the  children  of  the  church.  This  is  all 
that  we  can  fairly  ask.  It  were  a  singular  princi- 
ple to  apply  to  the  worship  of  God,  that  every  thing 
in  it,  must  be  adapted  throughout,  or  even  mainly, 
to  the  easy  comprehension  of  the  very  young. 
Must  we  have  a  "child's  Bible  as  well?" 

VI.  It  is  said  that  the  Psalms  are  not  adapted 
to  the  condition  and  experience  of  every  worship- 


204  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

per.  If  this  be  an  objection,  it  must  have  been,  as 
some  we  have  already  noticed,  an  equally  solid  rea- 
son why  the  Psalms  never  should  have  been  sung 
in  the  worship  of  the  church,  either  in  Old  or  New 
Testament  times.  The  objection  is,  moreover, 
equally  jrood  against  any  hymn  book  whatever:  for 
the  special  circumstances,  the  experiences,  &c.,  of 
all  the  worshippers,  will  scarcely  ever  be  identical 
in  any  worshipping  assembly.  And,  finally,  this 
objection  leaves  out  of  view  the  fact,  that  in  sing- 
ing Psalms,  God  is  praised.  And,  hence,  the  joy- 
ful Christian  may  praise  Him  for  deliverances 
wrought  for  the  sad  and  afflicted:  the  sad  and  af- 
flicted may  praise  Him  for  the  promises  and  tokens 
of  his  favour  which  fill  the  heart  of  the  emanci- 
pated believer  with  joy  and  gladness.  Both  can 
celebrate  his  works  of  power  and  of  mercy  in  be- 
half of  His  church  and  kingdom:  while  both  may 
see  in  the  tones  of  grief  and  sorrow,  and  again,  in  the 
notes  of  exultation  and  triumph,  the  heart  of  a  Sa- 
viour once  suffering,  now  exalted. 

VII.  It  is  said  that  churches  which  use  hymns 
are  more  prosperous — grow  more  rapidly — than 
those  that  do  not.  It  might  be  enough  to  reply, 
that  mere  statistics  settle  no  principle  or  moral  or 
religious  truth.  Eorae  reasons  in  this  very  way. 
Few  Christian  communities  have  grown  as  rapidly  as 
the  Mormons  or  the  Spiritualists.     But  does  the  ob- 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  205 

jection  state  the  fact?  It  may  be  that,  in  some 
localities  and  times,  the  assertion  of  the  objector 
may  be  true.  But  it  is  not  true  when  we  regard 
the  matter  as  we  should,  in  a  more  comprehensive 
spirit.  When  has  there  been  a  more  rapid  increase 
in  numbers  than  in  the  Apostolic  age?  or  in  the 
era  of  the  Keformation  ?  If  Psalm-singing  churches 
do  not  grow  so  rapidly  now,  it  must  be  owing,  not 
to  their  Psalmody,  but  to  other  causes. 

Again,  mere  growth  in  numbers  is  no  criterion 
of  a  church's  real  prosperity.  Growth  is,  indeed, 
eminently  desirable.  It  is  a  ground  of  rejoicing — 
high  and  holy — when  multitudes  flock  to  Zion;  but 
we  must  look  beyond  this:  we  must  have  regard  to 
other  elements  of  true  and  lasting  prosperity.  If 
mere  additions  to  the  numerical  strength  constitute 
any  argument  in  behalf  of  doctrines  and  practices, 
then  Presbyterianism  is  less  worthy  of  acceptance 
than  Methodism,  for  the  latter  has  grown  the  most 
rapidly:  Methodism  less  worthy  of  acceptance  than 
the  Baptist  views  and  system,  for  the  latter  grows 
most  rapidly  of  all.  Does  the  Most  High  endorse 
all  these  varying  doctrines  by  blessing  with  in- 
crease those  who  hold  them  ?  And  is  His  appro- 
bation, in  the  degree  of  it,  to  be  measured  by  this 
increase?  The  fact  is,  the  Most  High  may  and 
does  bless  his  own  truth,  even  when  it  is  presented 
intermingled  with  some  error:  to  ascertain  what  is 
18 


206  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

truth,  we  have  but  one  resort — ^'the  law  and  the 
testimony/^ 

Still,  we  do  not  admit  that  the  growth  of  the 
Psalm-singing  churches  is  even  in  this  day  so  much 
less  than  the  growth  of  others,  as  the  objection  re- 
quires. We  believe  they  will  bear  scrutiny  well 
on  this  point.  Most  of  them,  so  far  as  we  can 
judge  of  statistics,  are  not  far  behind  any  of  their 
contemporaries.  And  should  there  even  be  some 
ground  for  the  objection,  may  it  not  be  owing  rather 
to  the  fact  that  the  use  of  the  Psalms  has  generally 
been  found  associated  with  a  closer  adherence  to 
scriptural  requirements  in  the  admission  of  mem- 
bers, and  a  more  careful  discipline  exercised  over 
those  within  ? 

VIII.  It  is  said  that  the  spirit  of  some  of  the 
Psalms  is  inconsistent  with  that  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment— in  fact,  that  some  of  theiii  are  unchristian. 
This  objection  is  thus  stated  by  Dr.  AYatts,  "I 
have  been  long  convinced,  that  one  great  occasion 
.  of  this  evil  arises  from  the  matter  and  ivords  to 
which  we  confine  all  our  songs.*  Some  of  them  are 
almost  opposite  to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel;  many 
of  them  foreign  to  the  state  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  widely  different  from  the  present  circumstances 


*  In  1712,  Songs  of  Presbyterian  Churches  "confined" 
to  the  Psalms. 


PSALMS  UNOBJECTIONABLE.  207 

of  Christians.  Hence  it  comes  to  pass,  that  when 
spiritual  affections  are  excited  within  us,  and  our 
souls  are  raised  a  little  above  this  earth,  in  the  be- 
ginning of  a  Psalm,  we  are  checked  on  a  sudden 
in  our  ascent  toward  heaven,  by  some  expressions 
that  are  most  suitable  to  the  days  of  carnal  ordi- 
nances, and  fit  only  to  be  sung  in  the  worldly  sanc- 
tuary. While  we  are  kindling  into  divine  love, 
by  the  meditations  of  the  loving-kindness  of  God, 
and  the  multitude  of  his  tender  mercies;  within  a 
few  verses,  some  dreadful  curse  against  men  is  pro- 
posed to  our  lips,  which  is  so  contrary  to  the  new 
commandment  of  loving  our  enemies." 

To  this  we  reply, — (1.)  That  assertions  of  this 
kind  would  be  altogether  consistent — coming  from 
those  who  deny  the  inspiration  of  the  scriptures; 
or  rather,  from  those  who  go  farther,  and  condemn 
the  Bible  as  a  bad  book:  but  we  cannot  understand 
how  such  an  objection  can  be  offered,  or  thought 
of,  by  any  one  who  believes  that  the  Psalms  are  a 
part  of  the  inspired  word  of  God.  It  does  appear 
to  us  very  like  the  language  of  blasphemy,  if  it  be 
not  the  language  of  infidelity.  (2.)  It  is  a  fact 
sufiiciently  remarkable,  that  those  very  Psalms 
which  are  styled  pre-eminently  "cursing  psalms" 
— the  69th  and  the  109th — are  among  the  number 
of  those  Psalms  which  we  can  on  the  most  unques- 
tionable testimony,  identify  as  directly  appropriated 


208  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

to  the  betrayer  of  our  incarnate  and  suffering  Sa- 
viour. They  are  both  quoted,  and  in  the  most  strik- 
ing manner,  in  the  New  Testament — Acts  i.  20, — 
and  are  spoken  of  as  "scripture — which  the  Holy 
Ghost  by  the  mouth  of  David,  spake  before  concern- 
ing Judas/^  (3.)  Our  Saviour  himself  used  these 
very  Psalms:  they  are  his  language.  In  proof  of 
this  we  have  but  to  examine  the  Psalms  themselves, 
taking  with  us  the  above  inspired  interpretation  of 
them.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  speaker  is  no  other 
than  Jesus  Himself.  It  is  He  that  speaks  of  the 
traitor  in  the  terms  of  fearful  but  just  denunciation, 
which  Dr.  Watts,  and  many  since  his  day,  have 
ventured  to  denominate  unchristian?* 

(4.)  Finding  these  and  similar  utterances  in 
the  Psalms,  it  would  be  wisdom  in  the  objector,  to 
study  carefully  their  import,  and  then,  seek  to 
have  his  mind  and  heart  brought  into  conformity 
with  the  Spirit  of  Christ  speaking  in  them — a 
spirit  of  eternal  justice  and  holiness. 

(5.)  If  we  must  do  so,  however,  let  us  inquire, 
whether  the  Spirit  of  Christ  in  David  did  really 
move  him  to  utter  unchristian  sentiments?  Here 
we  quote  from  Sommerville:  "If  the  Psalms  have 
been  dictated  by  the  Holy  Grhost — if  by  the  Spirit 

*  Let  the  reader  turn  to  these  Psalms  and  satisfy  him- 
Eelf  in  this  respect. 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE  209 

of  Christy  who  speaks  not  of  himself,  but  speaks 
what  he  hears,  the  character  of  the  author  deter- 
mines the  character  of  the  Book.  An  unholy  per- 
son may  assume  the  character,  and  speak  the  words 
of  purity;  a  man  of  cruelty  may  write  a  book  and 
transcribe  in  it  the  language  of  clemency  and  mercy; 
but  a  holy  and  a  merciful  man  never  can  be  sup- 
posed, without  supposing  a  contradiction,  to  em- 
ploy language  impure  and  malicious,  and  calculated 
to  excite  or  cherish  impurity  and  revenge  in  the 
hearer  or  the  reader.  Whoever,  therefore,  thinks 
he  discovers  cruelty  and  revenge,  or  any  other  anti- 
ehristian  principle,  set  forth  and  encouraged  in  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  must  either  deny  that  it  has  been 
given  by  inspiration,  or  admit  that  he  totally  mis- 
understands* its  spirit,  its  language,  and  its  ten- 
dency. If  the  objection  before  us  be  founded  in 
truth,  the  Book  must  be  expunged  from  the  Bible. 
Its  pretensions  are  spurious,  and  its  presence  is  a 
stigma  upon  the  character  of  God.  But  we  have 
already  seen  that  its  claims  are  supported  by  the 
same  authority  which  sanctions  the  other  Scriptures, 
and  that  the  denial  of  its  inspiration  involves  the 
rejection  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the  New.  If 
God,  the  author,  be  holy,  there  is  nothing  unholy 
in  the  Book  of  Psalms,  or  calculated  to  encourage 
unholiness;  if  God  be  merciful,  there  is  nothing  ia 
it  inconsistent  with  mercy,  or  calculated  to  en- 
18* 


210  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

courage  cruelty;  if  God  be  love,  there  is  nothing 
in  it  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  love,  or  calculated  to 
encourage  hatred  or  revenge;  in  one  word,  there 
cannot  be  anything  in  the  Book  opposed  to  any 
perfection  of  the  Divine  character,  or  failing  to  re- 
commend conformity  to  God  upon  the  part  of  man. 
Whoever,  therefore,  quarrels  with  the  spirit  or 
matter  of  the  Psalms,  sets  himself  in  opposition, 
not  to  man,  but  God,  for  he  implicitly  imputes  to 
God  whatever  he  charges  upon  his  word. 

^^Or  again.  The  inspiration  of  the  Psalms  and 
of  the  New  Testament  being  taken  for  granted,  if 
the  Psalms  do  not  manifest  the  same  spirit,  incul- 
cate the  same  doctrines,  enjoin  the  same  moral 
duties,  prohibit  the  same  sins,  which  are  set  forth 
in  the  New  Testament,  it  follows  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  inconsistent  with  himself.  But  it  would 
be  no  difficult  matter  to  show  that  the  spirit,  the 
doctrines,  the  precepts,  the  prohibitions — in  a  word, 
the  design  and  tendency  of  both  are  the  same. 
And  we  know  that  the  Old  Testament  saints — we 
know  that  David  possessed  and  exemplified  that 
very  character  which  the  Gospel  of  Christ  recom- 
mends. Will  any  man  venture,  upon  mature  con- 
sideration, to  set  declarations  from  the  pen  of  Da- 
vid, especially  remembering  that  it  was  guided  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  the  expression  of  whose  inflexible 
justice,  of  whose  detestation  of  sin,  of  whose  de- 


PSAl^MS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  211 

termination  to-punisli  it, — to  dl  wliich  holy  men 
of  God  have  been  enabled — to  which  David  was 
enabled  to  say,  Amen, — he  may  have  mistaken  for 
the  language  of  unforgiving  cruelty; — will  any  man 
venture  to  set  declaration s,  the  spirit  and  design  of 
which  maybe  misunderstood,  in  opposition  to  facts? 
Are  malignity  and  revenge  rashly  to  be  imputed  to 
the  man,  who  found  his  enemy  in  a  cave, — his  enemy 
who  had  attempted  his  life,  who  was  at  that  mo- 
ment in  pursuit  of  him,  attended  by  three  thou- 
sand men,  that  he  might  overtake  and  kill  him, — 
and  would  not  put  forth  his  hand  against  his  per- 
son, though  urged  by  his  followers?  Will  we  at- 
tribute malignity  and  revenge  to  him  who,  coming 
into  the  camp  of  his  adversary  by  night,  and  find- 
ing him  and  his  men  asleep,  neither  injured  him 
nor  would  permit  another  to  do  it,  though  solicited, 
and  could  show  the  sword  and  cruise  of  water  which 
he  had  carried  away  from  his  head,  a  testimony  at 
once  of  his  own  power  to  have  taken  revenge,  and  of 
the  simplicity  and  ingenuousness  of  his  temper  and 
conduct?  Was  the  man  malignant  and  revengeful, 
who,  when  an  ungrateful  rebel  in  the  day  of  ad- 
versity cursed  him  and  vilified  his  character,  could 
say,  profoundly  resigned  to  the  award  of  Heaven, 
^Let  him  alone,  and  let  him  curse;  for  the  Lord 
hath  bidden  him/  And  shall  we  join  with  the 
many  who  have  conspired  to  vilify  the  character 


212  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

and  the  words  of  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel,  even 
at  the  hazard  of  charging  the  Spirit  of  Christ  with 
want  of  consistency?      God  forbid.  *  *  *  Once 
more,  and  I  dismiss  this  branch  of  the  inquiry:  Is 
such  language  as  this  cruel?     'Cut  them  off  in 
thy  truth.''     'I  will  bring  again  from  the  depth  of 
the  sea;  that  thy  foot  may  be  dipped  in  the  blood 
of  enemies,  the  tongue  of  thy  dogs  in  the  same/ 
^  Let  them  be  blotted  out  of  the  book  of  the  living, 
and  not  be  written  with  the  righteous.'     Is  it  in- 
consistent with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel,  to  use 
it  with  the  character  of  the  Christian  ?     Mark  the 
consequences.     Then  the  words  of  Paul,  moved 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,   not  merely  writing  to  the 
church,  but  to  a  bishop  of  the  church,  must  share 
in  the  same  condemnation.     'Alexander  the  cop- 
persmith did  me  much  evil:  the  Lord  reward  him 
according  to  his  works.'  (2  Tim.  iv.  14.)     If  the 
spirit  manifested  in  such  portions  of  the  Psalms  as 
those  quoted  be  unchristian,  by  what  spirit  shall 
we  say  the  Apostle  was  actuated  ?     If  the  Psalms 
be  inconsistent  with  the  Gospel,  then  Paul  must 
be  inconsistent  with  himself,  for  in  the  sixteenth 
verse  we  read,  'At  my  first  answer  no  man  stood 
with  me,  but  all  forsook  me:  I  pray  God  that  it 
may  not  be  laid  to  their  charge.'     Let  him  who  is 
straitened  in  the  use  of  some  portions  of  Zion's 
songs,  explain  the  consistency  of  the  fourteenth 


PSALMS   UNOBJECTIONABLE.  213 

and  sixteenth  verses  of  the  fourth  chapter  of  the 
second  epistle  to  Timothy,  and  he  shall  find  him- 
self near  an  enlargement.  Another  consequence 
follows.  The  saints  enter  into  the  regions  of  love 
and  peace,  with  all  the  cruelty  and  revenge  of 
earth  about  them.  ^  And  when  he  had  opened  the 
fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  the  altar  the  souls  of  them 
that  were  slain  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  which  they  held:  and  they  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying,  How  long,  0  Lord,  holy  and 
true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and  avenge  our  blood  on 
them  that  dwell  on  the  earth?'  Finally,  God  must 
delight  in  carnage,  and  be  chargeable  with  en^- 
couragins:  cruelty  in  his  people.  The  great  God 
has  a  supper,  to  which  the  fowls  of  heaven  are  in- 
vited, that  they  may  ^eat  the  flesh  of  kings,  and 
the  flesh  of  captains,  and  the  flesh  of  mighty  men, 
and  the  flesh  of  horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  on 
them,  and  the  flesh  of  all,  free  and  bond,  both 
small  and  great.'  ^I  heard,'  says  John,  'another 
voice  from  heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of  her,  my 
people.'  This  must  be  the  voice  of  God  himself, 
for  who  else  claims  the  saints  for  his  own?  And 
what  does  the  voice  proclaim  in  addition  to  a  call 
to  come  forth  from  among  the  children  of  mystical 
Babylon  ?  Reward  her  even  as  she  has  rewarded 
you,  and  double  unto  her  double  according  to  her 
works:  in  the  cup  which  she  hath  filled  fill  to  her 


214  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

double.  Rejoice  over  her,  tbou  heaven,  and  ye 
holy  apostles,  and  prophets;  for  God  hath  avenged 
you  on  her.^'  (Rev.  vi.  10;  xviii.  4-6;  xix.  17, 18.*) 
(6.)  Finally,  we  affirm,  that  it  is  one  of  the 
true  and  godlike  excellencies  of  these  Psalms — 
whatever  sentimentalists  may  say — that  they  do 
celebrate  the  awful  justice  of  God,  the  most  right- 
eous Lawgiver  and  Judge,  "to  whom  belongeth 
vengeance'' — his  justice  in  vindicating  his  truth, 
his  people,  and  the  claims  of  his  Son,  and  in  visit- 
ing as  they  deserve,  the  malignant  and  impenitent 
enemies  of  the  Person,  the  throne,  the  grace  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Let  us  hear  Tholuck.  "  In  modern 
times  the  opinion  seems  to  obtain,  that  love  to 
enemies  is  enjoined  as  a  duty  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment only.  The  gratuitousness  of  that  opinion  is 
apparent  from  consulting  correct  translations  of 
Lev.  xix.  18;  Ex.  xxiii.  4,  5;  Prov.  xxiv.  17,  18. 
29;  XXV.  21,  22;  Job  xxxi.  29.  To  form  a  right 
estimate  of  the  misgivings  alluded  to,  we  should 
consider  the  end  contemplated  hy  punisliment. 
The  common  view  is  that  with  God  and  the  pious, 
punishment  springs  from  love  and  contemplates 
the  improvement  of  man.  But  what  is  to  be  done 
if  you  have  to  deal  with  an  incorrigible  sinner? 
The  end  of  improvement  therefore  cannot  exhaust 

*  Sommerville,  pp.  43-49. 


PSALMS    UNOBJECTIONABLE.  215 

the  purpose  of  punishment.  Philosophy  agrees 
with  Christianity,  that  the  specific  purpose  of  pun- 
ishment is  retribution ;  i.  e.,  the  welfare  of  the 
individual  is  to  be  disturbed  in  the  same  measure 
as  he  has  disturbed  or  infringed  upon  the  law  of 
God  or  the  state.  Hence  it  appears  that  to  deny 
the  punishment  of  a  hardened  sinner  (not  on  per- 
sonal ground,  but  from  a  sense  of  the  holiness  of 
the  divine  law,)  is  as  little  to  be  regarded  as  evi- 
dencing moral  imperfection,  as  it  would  be  to  de- 
sire that  those  who  are  susceptible  of  improve- 
ment, should  by  means  of  correctives  be  brought 
to  their  senses.  The  objection  is  met,  if  it  can  be 
shown  that  the  imprecations  and  prayers  for  Di- 
vine punishment  do  not  flow  from  the  vindictive 
disposition  (viz.,  personal  irritability  and  passion) 
of  the  Psalmists,  but  from  the  motives  just  now 
alluded  to.  Those  supplications  would  then  cor- 
respond to  the  earnest  desire  of  a  good  monarch 
3r  a  just  judge  to  discover  the  guilty  that  justice 
might  be  administered,  and  the  expressions  of  Da- 
vid, the  private  individual,  ought  to  be  referred 
to  those  noble  motives  which  developed  the  prin- 
ciples he  uttered  when  a  king.  (Ps.  ci.  8.) 

"The  Psalmists  frequently  state  sentiments  like 
the  following  as  the  motives  of  their  prayers  for 
the  punishment  of  their  enemies:  that  the  holiness 
of  God  and  his  righteous  government  of  the  world 


216  THE  TRUE  P&ALMODT. 

should  be  acknowledged,  that  the  faith  of  the  pious 
should  be  strengthened,  that  they  should  praise 
God,  that  the  haughtiness  of  the  ungodly  should 
be  brought  within  bounds,  that  they  should  know 
that  God  is  the  righteous  judge  of  the  world,  and 
that  the  fulfilment  of  his  glorious  promises  should 
not  fail/'* 

IX.  It  is  said  that  if  we  sing  the  Psalms  we 
must  also  sing  the  titles  to  the  Psalms:  and  as  some 
of  these  titles  allow  the  use  of  instruments,  that 
we  must  also  use  them.  It  is  added,  that,  in  the 
Hebrew  Bible,  the  title  is  often  marked  as  the  first 
verse.  To  this  we  remark:  (1.)  That  at  best,  this 
can  be  no  argument  against  using  the  Psalms.  If 
the  titles  were  really  meant  to  be  sung,  or  if  the 
Psalms  were  designed  to  be  always  sung  in  con- 
nexion with  the  instruments  referred  to — this  much 
would  be  gained  by  the  objector,  hut  no  more. 
(2.)  Does  any  one  believe  that  the  title  "Psalm  of 
David,''  &c.,  was  ever  meant  to  be  sung?  or  ever 
was  sung?  or  that  no  Jew  was  allowed  to  sing  these 
Psalms  in  the  ordinary  services  of  religion  without 
using  the  ''harp,"  &;c.  ?  (3.)  As  to  the  division 
of  Psalms  into  verses,  as  these  are  marked  in  our 
Bibles — this  is  a  modern  affair  altogether.  (4.) 
The  authenticity  of  these  titles  is  not  universally 

*  Tholuck  on  Psalms,  p.  42,  43. 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        217 

acknowledged.  Let  this  point  be  settled  first. 
(5.)  We  follow,  in  omitting  the  titles,  the  exam- 
ple of  our  prose  version,  which  never  marks  the 
title  as  being  part  of  the  Psalms.  (6.)  When  the 
objector  can  tell  us  precisely  what  these  instru- 
ments were,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  inquire  about 
their  claims.  In  fact,  they  belonged  to  the  tem- 
ple, and  were  not  used  in  the  ordinary  worship 
even  of  the  Jews. 

In  fine,  we  repeat:  as  to  many  of  these  objections 
there  is  a  spirit  in  them  so  adverse  to  a  scriptural 
faith,  and  a  true  piety,  that  the  very  fact  that  they 
are  adduced  on  behalf  of  the  use  of  hymns,  consti- 
tutes a  distinct,  and,  by  no  means,  feeble  argument 
against  them.  A  cause  which  resorts  to  such  a 
course  of  reasoning,  is  not  a  good  one.  We  should 
'  fear  and  eschew  it. 


CHAPTER  y. 

SOME  REMARKS  UPON  THE  SCOTTISH  VERSION  OP 
THE  PSALMS. 

We  have  thus  far  kept  before  us  but  one  defi- 
nite proposition — the  Psalms  of  scripture  faithfully 
rendered,  the  Church's  sufficient  and  appointed 
manual  of  praise,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  uninspired 
hymns  and  songs.  W"e  have  sought  to  establish 
19 


218  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

and  vindicate  this  proposition  irrespective  of  every 
question  regarding  the  merits  of  a  particular  ver- 
sion. And  here  we  might  leave  the  entire  subject; 
for,  we  are  persuaded,  that  if  our  proposition  were 
generally  admitted,  there  would  be  little  contro- 
versy in  reference  to  the  particular  version  in  which 
the  Psalms  should  be  sung:  all  would  be  resolved 
into  the  single  inquiry — important  at  the  same 
time — as  to  the  claims  of  any  version,  or,  professed 
version,  to  be  a  true  and  accurate  rendering  of  the 
words  and  sentiments  of  the  inspired  Psalmist. 
This  could  be  quite  readily  and  amicably  settled, 
as  it  has  been  settled  in  other  ages,  and  in  other 
landS;  to  the  eotire  satisfaction  of  the  church  and 
the  people  of  God. 

It  is  well  known,  however,  that  the  controversy 
on  the  subject  of  Psalmody,  has,  of  later  years, 
been  largely  complicated  with  that  of  the  merits  of 
the  version,  usually  styled  "the  Scottish  version.^' 
Of  this  version,  the  advocates  of  the  use  of  hymns 
have — many  of  them — allowed  themselves  to  speak 
in  terms  expressive  of  everything  but  respect. 
They  speak  of  it  rather  scornfully,  as  "Rouse,"  or, 
as  "Rouse's  Psalms."  They  criticise  with  the  ut- 
most severity,  its  rhythm,  and  its  grammar;  while, 
with  some  exceptions,  they  do  notwithstanding, 
admit  its  fidelity  to  the  original  Hebrew.  They 
•seem,  ic  a  word, — we  refer  still  to  the  many,  not 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        219 

to  all, — to  view  it  as  deserving  only  of  the  most 
contemptuous  treatment,  and  assert  that  it  holds 
its  place  in  the  esteem  and  love  of  the  Psalm-sing- 
ing churches  merely  through  the  power  of  preju- 
dices imbibed  by  early  education  and  long  usage. 
Hence,  we  feel  ourselves  warranted,  if  not  obliged, 
to  append,  as  we  now  propose  to  do,  a  few  remarks 
upon  this  particular  version.     And, 

1.  It  cannot,  with  a  due  regard  to  scriptural 
truth,  and  a  proper  reverence  for  a  faithful  transla- 
tion of  the  word  of  God,  be  styled  "Rousc,'^  or 
^•Rouse's  Psalms,"  nor  even  in  absolute  terms 
^^ Rouse's  version."  True,  indeed,  this  version  is 
mainly  due  to  the  labours  of  an  eminent  scholar 
and  gentleman  of  that  name,  a  member  of  the 
Assembly  of  Divines  at  Westminster.  But  it  is 
also  true — that  the  version  as  it  came  from  his 
hands  was  subjected  to  the  most  careful  scrutiny, 
first  in  England,  by  the  Assembly  of  Divines,  in 
the  year  1645.*  They  made  amendments.  It 
was  then,  transmitted  to  Scotland,  and  again  ex- 
amined and  revised  with  the  utmost  care.  Alton, 
in  his  Life  of  Alexander  Henderson,  refers  to  this 
version  of  the  Psalms  as  follows:  "The  version  of 
the  Psalms  by  Roos  (Rouse,)  was  intended  not  only 


*  Neil's  History  of  the  Puritans,  vol.  i.  p,  888    Lon- 
don, 1837. 


220  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

for  the  Church  of  Scotland,  but  also  for  that  of 
England,  during  the  general  prevalence  of  Presby- 
terianism.  After  all  pains  in  England  had  been 
bestowed  upon  the  Psalms,  they  were  sent  down 
to  Scotland  in  portions  for  further  consideration. 
The  Church  of  Scotland  appointed  John  Adam- 
son  to  revise  the  first  forty  Psalms,  Thomas  Craw- 
ford the  second  forty,  John  Row  the  third,  and 
John  Nevey  the  last  thirty  Psalms.  The  commit- 
tee were  enjoined  not  only  to  observe  what  needed 
amendments,  but  also  to  set  down  their  own  me- 
thod of  correcting.  It  was  recommended  to  them 
to  make  use  of  the  travails  (i.  e.,  labours)  of  Kow- 
allin,  Zachary  Boyd,  or  any  other  on  that  subject, 
but  especially  of  the  then  existing  Paraphrase  (ver- 
sion) so  that  whatever  could  be  found  better  in 
any  of  these  works  might  be  adopted.  The  ver- 
sion thus  purified  by  the  Scottish  committee  was 
sent  to  all  the  Presbyteries  of  the  Church,  who 
transmitted  their  observations  to  the  original  com- 
mittee. These  reported  their  labours  on  the  re- 
marks from  the  Presbyteries  to  the  Commission  of 
the  Assembly  for  Public  Affairs.  After  the  Com- 
mission had  revised  the  whole,  they  were  sent  to 
the  Provincial  Synods,  and  through  them  again 
transmitted  to  the  Presbyteries:  and  after  their 
further  consideration,  the  version,  thus  fully  pre- 
pared, was  sent  up  to  the  General  Assembly.     The 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        221 

version  so  prepared  was  then  'allowed  by  the  au- 
thority of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk  of 
Scotland,  and  appointed  to  be  sung  in  congrega- 
tions and  families/'  (1649:)  and  thus  it  was  finally 
adopted,  superseding,  by  its  acknowledged  merits, 
the  versions  previously  in  use  both  in  Scotland  and 
England.  Hence,  this  translation  is  not  absolutely 
'' Rouse's."  It  has  received  the  imprimatur,  after 
amendment,  of  the  most  learned  Assembly,  perhaps, 
ever  convened  on  earth,  and  of  another — the  Scot- 
tish Assembly — not  much  inferior. 

Now,  we  have  an  English  Bible;  a  translation 
from  the  original  Hebrew  and  Greek,  made  by 
forty-seven  learned  men  of  the  English  Universi- 
ties, who  divided  themselves  into  six  companies 
for  the  purpose.*  They  had  been  called  together 
by  king  James  I.  Did  we  know,  as  we  do  not, 
the  name  of  the  particular  individual  who  prepared 
the  first  draught  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs,  what 
would  be  thought  of  the  spirit  of  the  professing 
Christian  man,  who  would  indulge,  habitually,  iu 
speaking  of  the  book  of  Proverbs,  not  as  the  Pro- 
verbs of  Solomon,  but  as  "Bilson's  Proverbs,"  or 
'^  Smith's  Proverbs :"  f  or  even  as  ''Bilson's  ver- 

*  Neal's  History,  vol.  i.  454.     f  To  these  men  the  pub- 
lishing of  the  translation  was  committed.     We  use  their 
names  for  illustration  merely. 
19* 


222  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

sion,"  or  ^'Smitli's  version?"  Would  tliis  be  tole- 
rated as  decent,  or  becoming?  We  think  not. 
How  do  a  large  part  of  the  religious  community 
now,  regard  the  contemptuous  flings  sometimes 
made  at  our  English  Bible,  as  ''King  James'  Bi- 
ble?'' Luther  translated  the  Bible  into  the  Ger- 
man tongue:  what  would  be  thought  of  the  man 
who  would  constantly  speak  with  contempt  of  the 
German  Bible^  as  if  it  were  not  God's  Bible,  but 
'<  Luther's ?''  And  yet  none  of  these  translations 
were  subjected  to  such  scrutiny  of  competent  au- 
thority and  learning,  as  this  version,  which  grave 
men  permit  themselves  scornfully  to  speak  of  in 
no  other  terms  than  "Rouse's  Psalms,"  or  at  best, 
"Rouse's  version:"  sometimes  asking  whether  Dr. 
Watts  had  not  as  good  a  right  to  make  Psalms  as 
Rouse. 

2.  In  view  of  the  facts  which  we  have  just  pre- 
sented, we  are,  certainly,  at  liberty  to  pronounce, 
very  decidedly,  the  "Scottish  version"  to  be  an 
accurate  rendering  of  the  original.  We  are  aware, 
indeed,  that  attempts  have  been  made  to  disparage 
it  even  in  this  respect,  but  they  have  signally 
'failed.  In  fact,  it  is  even  less  liable  to  the  charge 
of  inaccuracy  than  our  generally  faultless  English 
Bible.  Where  it  differs  from  the  prose,  compe- 
tent judges  pronounce  most  frequently  in  its  favour 
as  really  the  more  accurate.     Hence, 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        223 

3.  Between  this  version  and  Dr.  Watts'  ^'Imita- 
tions/' for  example,  there  can  be  no  comparison  on 
the  score  of  fidelity.  Dr.  Watts  did  not  profess  to 
render  the  Psalms  into  English  verse:  his  design 
was,  and  so  declared,  to  make  Psalms,  taking  the 
Scripture  as  a  kind  of  basis.  Hence,  he  never 
called  his  work  a  ^'version;"  he  says  "he  imitated'^ 
the  Psalms  of  David,  "in  the  language  of  the  New 
Testament."  How  he  has  peformed  his  work,  Dr. 
Cooper  has  thus  shown:  "He  (Dr.  Watts)  express- 
ly says,  in  his  preface,  ^It  must  be  acknowledged 
that  there  are  a  thousand  lines  in  it,  (the  Psalms 
of  David,)  which  were  not  made  for  the  church  ia 
our  days  to  assume  as  its  own.'  Of  course  they 
have  been  omitted.  Where,  then,  is  the  imitation 
of  these  thousand  lines?  He  further  tells  us  that 
he  ^has  entirely  omitted  several  whole  psalms,  and 
large  pieces  of  many  others;'  where  is  the  imita- 
tion of  these  psalms?  But  has  he  left  them  out 
as  unfit  to  be  used  in  the  worship  of  God?  No; 
had  he  merely  done  this,  our  feelings  would  have 
been  far  less  shocked.  He  has  given  the  whole 
one  hundred  and  fifty  ^Psalms  of  David,  in  metre,' 
though  several  whole  psalms,  and  large  pieces  of 
many  others  have  been  entirely  omitted,  according 
to  his  express  declaration.  Let  us  look,  for  in- 
stance, at  the  109th  psalm.  The  original,  as  we 
have  it  in  our  prose  and  in   our  metrical  trans- 


224  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

lation,  contains  thirty-six  verses;  that  of  Dr.  Watts 
contains  six  verses,  and  there  is  not  an  idea  in  the 
one  to  be  found  in  the  other,  unless  it  be  the  ad- 
dress in  the  first  line,  ^God  of  my  praise/  The 
psalm,  as  it  comes  from  God,  is  taken  up  with  a 
fearful  description  of  the  awful  doom  of  his  impla- 
cable enemies,  and  is  applied  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  Judas.  The  subject  of  Dr.  Watts'  imi- 
tation— of  Dr.  Watts'  ^  version,^  is  ^Love  to  ene- 
mies from  the  example  of  Christ.'  Can  there  pos- 
sibly be  a  greater  perversion  of  language  than  to 
call  this  a  version  of  the  109th  psalm?  and  yet  they 
charge  the  friends  of  an  inspired  psalmody  with 
excluding  Dr.  Watts'  'rich  and  beautiful  version 
of  the  Psalms  from  the  sanctuary.'  What  would 
he  think  if  the  Apocryphal  psalm,  in  the  Septua- 
gint  version  of  the  psalms  of  David,  were  published 
to  the  world,  and  used  in  the  worship  of  God  as 
one  of  the  psalms  of  David,  and  shall  he  think  it 
'strange'  that  we  are  unwilling  to  admit  into  the 
sanctuary,  as  a  version  of  the  psalms  of  David, 
psalms  which,  in  the  language  of  the  pious  Eo- 
maine,  ^are  so  far  from  the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  that 
I  am  sure  if  David  were  to  read  them,  he  would 
not  know  any  one  of  them  to  be  his?'  How  could 
we  regard  with  feelings  of  complacency  their  in- 
troduction into  the  sanctuary,  as  a  version,  be- 
lieving, as  we  do,  with  Professor  Alexander  of 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        225 

Princeton,  that  they  are  ^  all  intended  to  be  used 
in  public  worship:'  and  believing,  also,  with  the 
same  author,  that  'the  arrangement  of  the  Psalms 
was  the  work  of  Ezra,  the  inspired  collector  and 
redacteur  of  the  canon/  No,  we  cannot  so  regard 
their  introduction.  We  must  continue  to  protest 
against  it,  however  strange  our  opposition  may  ap- 
pear to  the  admirers  of  what  they  call  '  Dr.  Watts' 
rich  and  beautiful  version  of  the  psalms.'"* 

4.  We  do  not,  however,  claim  perfection  for  the 
Scottish  version  of  the  Psalms.  AVe  are  well  aware 
that  its  rhymes  are  frequently  defective,  that  it 
contains  some  obsolete  words,  and  that  its  rhythm 
is  sometimes  at  fault.  This  is  only  saying,  what 
all  acknowledge  respecting  our  English  Bible, — that 
it  is  susceptible  of  amendment.  But  like  that  Bi- 
ble, the  work  of  amendment  will  need  to  be  gone 
about  very  cautiously,  lest  the  fidelity  of  the  words 
and  the  vigour  of  the  style  be  impaired  in  the  pro- 
cess. 

But  is  this  version  so  rude  as  is  often  asserted? 
Is  it  justly,  and  necessarily  oflfensive  to  a  culti- 
vated Christian  taste  ?  We  say,  without  hesitation, 
it  is  not.  We  have  ample  evidence  that  it  is  not; 
for  it  has  commended  itself  to  not  a  few  of  the  best 


*  What  Drs.  Breckenridge  and  Junkin  think  of  Watts' 
'Imitations"  we  have  already  seen. 


226  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

minds  for  its  evident  faithfulness,  its  fulness,  its 
nervous  energy,  and  even  for  its  highly  lyric  cha- 
racter of  style.  Nor  do  we  go  back  to  the  days  of 
the  Westminster  Assembly  for  our  proofs.  We 
find  them  in  the  fact,  that  this  version  is  now  used, 
or  has  been,  even  in  these  late  days,  with  satisfac- 
tion by  men  whom  the  world  knows  well  as  singu- 
larly accomplished — such  men,  for  example,  as  are 
now,  or  others  who  lately  were,  the  ornaments  of  the 
Scottish  and  Irish  Presbyterian  Churches:  to  say 
nothing  of  many  in  the  Psalm-singing  churches  in 
this  country.  We  have  other  testimonies.  The  emi- 
nently accomplished  and  pious  author  of  the  ^'Life 
of  Faith^' — Romaine — thus  replied  to  some  who 
thought  it  strange  that  he  should  use  the  version 
of  Sternhold  and  Hopkins.  "They  wonder  I 
would  make  use  of  this  version,  which  they  think 
is  poor,  flat  stuff,  the  poetry  is  miserable,  and  the 
language  low  and  base.  To  which  I  answer,  they 
had  a  scrupulous  regard  for  the  very  words  of  scrip- 
ture, and  to  these  they  adhered  closely  and  strictly; 
so  much  as  to  render  the  versification  not  equal  to 
Mr.  Pope.  I  grant  it  is  not  always  smooth;  it  is 
only  here  and  there  brilliant.  But  what  is  a  thou- 
sand times  more  valuable,  it  is  generally  the  senti- 
ment of  the  Holy  Spirit.  That  is  very  rarely  lost. 
And  this  should  silence  every  objection — it  is  the 
word  of  God.     Moreover  the  version  comes  nearer 


SCOTTISH  VERSION  OF  THE  PSALMS.        227 

to  the  original  than  any  I  have  ever  seen,  except 
the  Scotch,  of  which  I  have  made  use,  when  it  ap- 
peared to  me  better  expressed  than  the  English. 
You  may  find  fault  with  the  manner  of  ekeing  out 
a  verse  for  the  sake  of  the  rhyme,  but  what  of  that? 
Here  is  every  thing  great  and  noble,  although  not 
in  Dr.  Watts'  way  or  style.  It  is  not  like  his  fine 
sound  and  florid  verse;  as  good  old  Mr.  Hall  used 
to  call  it,  Watts^  j^^^Q^^-  I  ^o  not  match  those 
psalms  with  what  is  now  admired  in  poetry;  al- 
though time  was  when  no  less  a  man  than  the  Rev. 
T.  Bradbury,  in  his  sober  judgment,  thought  so 
meanly  of  Watts'  hymns  as  commonly  to  term  them 
Watts'  whymns.  And  indeed  compared  to  the 
Scripture,  they  are  like  a  little  taper  to  the  sun :  as 
for  his  psalms,  these  are  so  far  from  the  mind  of 
the  Spirit,  that  I  am  sure  if  David  was  to  read 
them,  he  would  not  know  any  one  of  them  to  be 
his.''  *  M^Cheyne — himself  a  poet,  says  ^'  The  me- 
trical version  of  the  Psalms  should  be  read  or  sung 
through,  at  least  once  a  year.  It  is  truly  an  ad- 
mirable translation  from  the  Hebrew,  and  is  fre- 
quently more  correct  than  the  prose  version."  Even 
Sir  Walter  Scott,  no  mean  authority  in  matters  of 


*  This  same  Romaine  wanted  words  to  describe  what 
he  thought  of  those  who  supposed  they  could  make  "better 
Psalms  than  those  of  the  Bible." 


228  THE  TRUE  PSALMODY. 

taste  and  poetry,  says,  "The  expression  of  the  old 
metrical  translation,  though  homely,  is  plain,  forci- 
ble, and  intelligible,  and  very  often  possesses  a  rude 
sort  of  majesty,  which  perhaps  would  be  ill  ex- 
changed for  mere  elegance.  I  have  an  old-fashioned 
taste  in  sacred  as  well  as  profane  poetry :  I  cannot 
help  preferring  even  Sternhold  and  Hopkins  to 
Tate  and  Brady,  and  our  own  metrical  version  of 
the  Psalms  to  both.  I  hope,  therefore,  they  will 
be  touched  with  a  lenient  hand.'^  Eufus  Choate  of 
Boston,  is,  at  all  events,  a  man  of  taste.  H'e  has 
said:  "An  uncommon  pith  and  gnarled  vigour  of 
sentiment  lies  in  that  old  version:  I  'prefer  it  to 
Watt^r 

It  were  well,  indeed,  could  the  fidelity  of  this 
version,  be  combined  with  a  more  entire  exemption 
from  the  minor  faults  which  attach  to  it.  But,  in 
the  mean  time,  we  would,  with  myriads  of  the  saints 
of  God,  prefer  to  have  the  word  of  God  as  the 
matter  of  our  praise,  rather  than  the  most  flowing 
and  smooth  of  mere  human  utterances. 


APPENDIX  A. 


Psalms  for  both  Testaments. 
In  addition  to  the  more  direct  argument  by  which 
we  have  established  in  our  2d  chapter,  the  perma« 
nent  appointment  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  as  the 
church's  manual  of  praise,  we  quote  the  following 
from  the  pen  of  the  learned  author  of  "  The  Typo- 
logy of  the  Scriptures/^  embodying  in  our  quota- 
tion the  high  commendations  of  this  Book  from  the 
pen  of  another  distinguished  writer: —        % 

^' These  psalms  are  chiefly  summaries,  in  a  poeti- 
cal and  impressive  form,  of  great  truths  and  prin- 
ciples, derived  from  the  past  acts  and  revelations  of 
God,  by  some  of  the  most  gifted  members  of  the 
church,  and  accompanied  with  such  pious  reflec- 
tions and  devout  breathings  of  soul,  as  the  subjects 
naturally  suggested,  through  God's  Spirit,  to  their 
minds.  In  them  is  expressed,  we  may  say,  the 
very  life  and  essence  of  the  symbolical  institutions 
and  manifold  transactions  in  providence,  through 
which  the  members  of  the  old  covenant  were  in- 
structed in  the  knowledge;  and  trained  to  the  ser- 
20  229 


230  APPENDIX. 

vice  of  tlie  true  God — and  so  expressed  as  to  be 
most  admirably  fitted  for  forming  the  minds  of  all 
to  right  views  and  feelings  concerning  God,  and 
enabling  them  to  give  due  utterance  to  these  in 
their  exercises  of  devotion.     But  was  this  the  cha- 
racter and  design  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  merely  to 
the    Old  Testament   church?     Is  it   not  equally 
adapted  for  the  suitable  expression  of  pious  feeling, 
for  a  help  to  devotion,  for  a  directory  of  spiritual 
thought  and  holy  living,  to  the  church  of  the  New 
Testament?     Is  there  a  feature  in  the  divine  cha- 
racter as  now  developed  in  the  gospel,  a  spiritual 
principle  or  desire  in  the  mind  of  an  enlightened 
Christian,  a  becoming  exercise  of  affection   or  a 
matter  of  vital  experience  in  the  divine  life,  of 
■which  the  record  is  not  to  be  found  in  this  invalu- 
able portion  of  holy  writ?     And  how  could  such  a 
book  have  existed  among  the  sacred  writings  cen- 
turies before  the  Christian  era,  but  for  the  fact  that 
the  old  and  new  covenants,  however  much  they 
may  have  differed  in  outward  form,  and  however 
the  transactions  respectively  connected  with  them 
may  have  been  inferior  in  the  one  case   to  the 
other,  yet  were  alike  pervaded  by  the  same  great 
^ truths  and  principles?     Thus  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
standing  mid-way  between  both  covenants,   and 
serving  equally  to  the  members  of  each  as  the  hand- 
maid of  a  living  piety,  is  a  witness  of  the  essential 
identity  of  their  primary  and  fundamental  ideas. 
There  the  disciples  of  Moses  and  of  Christ  meet  as 
on  common  ground,  the  one  taking  up  as  their  most 
natural  and  fitting  expressions  of  faith  and  hope, 
the  hallowed  words,  which  the  other  had  been  wont 
to  use  in  their  devotions  ages  before,  and  then  be- 


PSALMS  FOR  BOTH  TESTAMENTS.     231 

queathed  as  a  legacy  to  succeedinp:;  generations  of 
believers.  So  intimately  connected  were  they  with 
the  affairs  and  circumstances  of  the  dispensation, 
which  was  to  vanish  away,  that  they  one  and  all 
took  their  occasion  from  these,  and  are  fraught 
throughout  with  references  to  them;  and  yet,  so  ac- 
cordant are  they  to  the  better  things  of  the  dispen- 
sation that  abideth,  so  perfectly  adapted  to  the 
ways  of  God  as  exhibited  in  the  gospel,  and  the 
spiritual  life  required  of  its  professors,  that  they 
are  invariably  the  most  used  and  relished  by  those, 
who  are  most  established  in  the  grace,  and  most 
replenished  with  the  blessing  of  God.  It  was  con- 
fessedly carnal  institutions,  under  which  the  holy 
men  worshipped,  who  were  employed  by  God  to  in- 
dite these  divine  songs,  as  it  was  also  the  transac- 
tions of  an  earthly  and  temporal  life,  which  formed 
the  immediate  ground  and  occasion  of  the  senti- 
ments they  unfold;  yet  where  in  all  scripture 
will  the  believer,  who  'worships  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,^  more  readily  go  to  find  language  for  ex- 
pressing his  loftiest  conceptions  of  God,  for  por- 
traying his  most  spiritual  and  enlarged  views  of 
the  character  he  is  called  to  maintain,  or  breathing 
forth  his  most  elevated  desires  and  feelings  after 
divine  things?  So  that  the  Psalms  may  well  be 
termed,  with  Augustine,  '  an  epitome  of  the  whole 
Scriptures,'  and  a  summary,  not  as  Luther  said, 
of  the  Old  Testament  merely,  but  of  both  Testa- 
ments together,  in  their  grand  elements  of  truth 
and  outlines  of  history.  '  What  is  there  necessary 
for  man  to  know,'  says  Hooker,  'which  the  Psalms 
are  not  able  to  teach?  They  are  to  beginners  an 
easy  and  familiar  introduction,  a  mighty  augmen- 


2o2  APPENDIX. 

tation  of  all  virtue  and  knowledge  in  sucli  as  are 
entered  before,  a  strong  confirmation  to  the  most 
perfect  among  others.  Heroical  magnanimity,  ex- 
quisite justice,  grave  moderation,  exact  wisdom, 
repentance  unfeigned,  unwearied  patience,  the  mys- 
teries of  God,  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  the  terrors 
of  wrath,  the  comforts  of  grace,  the  works  of  Pro- 
vidence over  this  world,  and  the  promised  joys  of 
that  world  which  is  to  come,  all  good  necessarily 
to  be  either  known,  or  had,  or  done,  this  one  celes- 
tial fountain  yieldeth/  We  may,  therefore,  con- 
clusively appeal  to  the  character  of  this  extraor- 
dinary book,  as  confirmatory  of  the  general  views, 
which  it  has  been  our  object  to  establish.  It  ren- 
ders clear  as  noon-day  the  perfect  identity  of  those 
great  truths  and  principles,  on  which  both  econo- 
mies were  founded  as  to  the  institutions  of  worship, 
and  the  providential  dealings  respectively  connected 
with  them.  And  as  we  know  the  one  to  have 
been  all  arranged  in  preparation  for  the  other,  con- 
sequently in  pre-ordained  connexion  with  it,  we 
thus  learn  what  was  the  real  nature  of  the  resem- 
blances, which  formed  the  connecting  link  between 
the  things  of  the  two  covenants,  and,  how  we  are 
to  explain  the  one  as  types  and  the  other  as  anti- 
types.''  ^ 

APPENDIX    B. 

The  correspondent  "S.  D."  of  the  Presbyterian — 
from  whom  we  have  taken  some  facts  in  regard  to 
the  hymns  now  in  use,  but  without  intending  to 


*  Fairbairn's  Typology,  &c.,  pp.  60-63.    Ed.  1852. 


PSALMS — ^ALL  SONGS. 

endorse  all  his  tbeories — denies  that  the  Psalms 
were  all  intended  to  be  sung,  even  under  the  Old 
Testament  dispensation;  of  course,  while  he  finds 
fiiult  with  the  hymnology  of  the  age,  he  also  de- 
nies the  appointment  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  as  a 
whole,  for  the  use  of  the  church  in  New  Testament 
times;  quoting  as  his  only  authority — for  he  gives 
no  argument — Dr.  Davidson  of  England.  AVe  also 
can  give  authorities  much  superior  in  their  charac- 
ter to  that  of  a  writer  who  was  obliged  to  relinquish, 
on  account  of  his  Rationalistic  views  on  the  subject 
of  Inspiration,  the  position  which  he  had  long  held 
as  Professor  in  the  Lancashire  Independent  Theolo- 
gical Seminary. 

Dr.  J.  W.Alexander  y  speaking  of  the  Psalms,  says, 
^^  all  intended  to  be  used  in  public  worship." 

Tholuchy  a  comparatively  orthodox  German,  (In- 
troduction, p.  2,)  "The  Psalms  have  ever  since  the 
first  century,  formed  an  essential  part  of  Christian 
worship." 

Herder,  another  of  the  same  stamp,  says  of  the 
Book  of  Psalms,  "It  is  the  hymn  book  for  all 
times." 

Edwards,  the  most  eminent  theologian  of  the 
Western  world,  in  a  passage  from  which  we  have 
quoted  already,  but  which  we  give  here  in  full,  is 
most  express.     He  says, — 

"Another  thing  God  did  towards  this  work,  at 
20* 


234  APPENDIX. 

that  time,  was  his  inspiring  David  to  show  forth 
Christ  and  his  redemption,  in  divine  songs,  which 
should  be  for  the  use  of  the  church,  in  pubhc  wor- 
ship, throughout  all  ages.  *  '*'  *  This  was  also  a 
glorious  advancement  of  the  aJBfair  of  redemption, 
as  God  hereby  gave  his  church  a  book  of  divine 
songs  for  their  use  in  that  part  of  their  public  wor- 
ship, viz.,  singing  his  praises  throughout  all  ages 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is  manife&t  the  hook 
of  Psalms  ivas  given  of  God  for  this  end.  It  was 
used  in  the  church  of  Israel  by  God's  appointment: 
this  is  manifest  by  the  title  of  many  of  the  Psalms, 
in  which  they  are  inscribed  to  the  chief  musician, 
i.  c,  to  the  man  that  was  appointed  to  be  the  lead- 
er of  divine  songs  in  the  temple,  in  the  public 
worship  of  Israel.  So  David  is  called  the  sweet 
Fsalmist  of  Israel,  because  he  penned  psalms  for 
the  use  of  the  church  of  Israel;  and  accordingly  we 
have  an  account  that  they  were  actually  made  use 
of  in  the  church  of  Israel  for  that  end,  even  ages 
after  David  was  dead;  as  2  Chron.  xxix.  30.  '  More- 
over, Hezekiah  the  king,  and  the  princes,  com- 
manded the  Levites  to  sing  praises  unto  the  Lord, 
with  the  words  of  David,  and  of  Asaph  the  seer.' 
And  we  find  that  the  same  are  appointed  in  the 
New  Testament  to  be  made  use  of  in  the  Christian 
church  in  their  worship.  Eph.  v.  19 :  '■  Speaking 
to  yourselves  in  psalms,  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs.' 
Col.  iii.  16:  'Admonishing  one  another  in  psalms, 
hymns,  and  spiritual  sones.'  So  they  have  been, 
and  ivill,  to  the  end  of  the  icorld,  he  made  use  of 
in  the  church  to  celebrate  the  praises  of  God.  The 
people  of  God  were  wont  sometimes  to  worship  God 
by  singing  songs  to  his  praise  before;  as  they  did 


AUTHORS  OF  HYMNS.  235 

at  tbe  Red  Sea;  and  they  had  IMoses'  prophetical 
song,  in  the  32d  chapter  of  Deuteronomy,  com- 
mitted to  them  for  that  end;  and  Deborah,  Barak, 
and  Hannah,  sung  praises  to  God:  but  now  first 
did  God  commit  to  his  church  a  book  of  divine 
songs  for  constant  wse."* 

APPENDIX   C. 

Hymn  Writers. 
We  have  barely  touched  in  Chapter  III.  upon 
the  character  of  the  hymns  now  in  use,  nor  do  we 
propose  to  do  so  here.  Many  of  these  are  very 
nice  songs:  some  of  them  beautiful  in  sentiment 
and  in  style;  some  of  them  very  touching  and  pa- 
thetic; but  there  are  some  facts  in  regard  to  the  au- 
thorship of  some  of  the  hymns  sung  in  evangelical 
churches,  that  should  be  known.  A  hymn  book 
was  compiled  a  few  years  since  by  Rev.  H.  W. 
Beecher,  the  (*)  correspondent  of  the  ^'Indepen- 
dent/^ In  reference  to  this  book,  the  Evangelist, 
he  says, 

'^Charged  that  in  collecting  hymns  we  have  gone 
quite  beyond  the  ordinary  excursions  of  evangeli- 
cal compilers  of  hymn  books,  and  have  freely  used 
'Catholic,  Unitarian,  Universalist,  Swedenborgian, 
and  other  collections/" 

The  compiler  thus  vindicates  himself  and  his 
collection: — 

*  Edwards' Works,  vol.  iii.  pp.  230-232.  N.Y.,Ed.  1829. 


236  APPENDIX. 

^^Our  reply  is  a  denial  that  we  have  gone  where 
other  evangelical  compilers  have  not  gone.  There 
is  scarcely  a  collection  made  within  thirty  years, 
that  has  not  been  indebted  to  Catholic,  Unitarian, 
and  C'^?iiye;-sa?/s^  collections.  Th.e  Church  Psalmodi/ 
prepared  by  Lowell  Mason,  and  Dr.  Greene,  one  of 
the  oflficers  of  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions; The  Psalmist,  the  standard  Baptist  collec- 
tion, edited  by  Baron  Stow  and  S.  F.  Smith,  and 
adopted  by  the  Board  of  the  Baptist  Publication 
Society;  and  especially  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
collection,  approved  by  Bishops  Hedding,  AVaugh, 
Morris,  Hamlin,  and  Janes,  published  by  the  Me- 
thodist Book  Concern,  and  now  generally  used  by 
that  denomination;  the  Lutheran  collection,  pub- 
lished by  the  General  Synod  of  the  Evangelical 
Lutheran  Church, — all  these,  and  many  others, 
are  indebted  largely  to  Catholic,  Unitarian,  and 
Universalist  collections.  As  for  the  Swedenbor- 
gian  collections,  we  cannot  tell  how  much  we  may 
owe  to  them,  as  we  have  never  seen  one/' 

The  author  says  again: — 

"The  Evangelist  charges  that  in  the  Plymouth 
Collection  there  is  a  ^  large  admixture'  of  the 
hymns  of  Bryant,  Chapin,  Furness,  Willis,  Mrs. 
Hemans,  Tom  Moore,  L.  E.  L.,  (Letitia  Landon,j 
Longfellow,  Mrs.  Sawyer,  Whittier,  Festus  Bailey, 
Burns,  Miss  Martineau,  '^  and  others.''' 

And  thus  answers: — 

"What  are  the  facts?     We  do  not  know  of  a 


*  An  Atheist. 


AUTHORS  OP  HYMNS.  237 

single  evangelical  collection  of  hymns  which  has 
not  introduced  the  hymns  of  some  or  many  of  these 
authors.  In  the  book  of  the  General  Association 
of  Connecticut,  hymns  of  Bryant,  Pierpont,  Bow- 
ring,  Heraans,  Martineau's  Collection,  Pope,  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  Tom  Moore,  are  all  found.  In  the 
New  School  Presbyterian  Assembly's  book,  Tom 
Moore  holds  an  honourable  place,  as  he  does  in  the 
book  of  the  Old  School  Greneral  Assembly  and  Net- 
tleton's  Village  Hymns.  When  the  General  As- 
semblies join  in  giving  to  the  church  Tom  Moore's 
*  Come,  ye  disconsolate,  ichere'er  ye  languish,'^  we 
think  the  Evangelist  need  not  take  the  pains  to  sa- 
crifice its  candour  and  veracity  in  order  to  reproach 
the  Plymouth  Collection  for  having  Tom  Moore's 
^m^ockpiety.'  In  the  Baptist  Collection  may  be  found 
Mrs.  Pollen,  Bulfinch,  hymns  from  Martineau's 
Collection,  Tom  Moore,  Mrs.  Hemans,  Pope  and 
Willis.  The  Methodist  Collection  contains  hymns 
oi Moore,  Bryant,  Ware,  G.  P.  Morris,  Pierpont,''  &c. 

The  only  vindication  proposed  is,  ''If  the  hymn 
is  good,  we  are  not  to  go  behind  it.  *  *  *  The 
hymn  is  to  stand  for  itself."  This  may  satisfy 
some,  but  we  are  much  mistaken  if  the  plain  people 
of  God  are  prepared  to  offer  the  Most  High  the 
effusions  of  all  sorts  of  heretics.     This  is  a  painful 


*  A  favourite  hymn  with  many ;  a  hymn  moreover,  if 
we  mistake  not,  with  rather  a  remarkable  history  for  a 
hymn.  Moore  was  a  Papist,  and  a  very  free  and  lus- 
cious poet. 


23S  APPENDIX. 

feature  of  modern  hymnology.  The  hymns  of  such 
writers  may  be  good  poetry  and  pretty  reading, 
but  to  use  them  in  God's  worship,  is,  we  think, 
most  offensive  to  Christian  faith  and  feeling.  How 
dare  a  worshipper  come  before  God,  with  thoughts 
and  words,  which,  it  may  be,  an  open  enemy  of 
Christ  has  furnished  him  ?  The  Reformed  Church 
of  Germany — a  section  of  the  large  Protestant  body 
— seems  to  have  come  to  this  conclusion.  At  the 
Conference  of  the  present  year,  held  at  Elberfield, 
it  was  decided  that  '■'-only  hymns  tchose  authors 
are  hnoion  to  he  truly  regenerate  Christians  shall 
he  received/'  Consistently  carried  out,  this  deci- 
sion will  exclude  from  this  service,  all  but  the  Bi- 
ble Psalms;  for  how  is  it  to  be  determined  beyond 
possibility  of  mistake,  that  the  authors  of  any  others, 
are  "truly  regenerated  Christians?*' 

APPENDIX    D. 

In  connexion  with  the  argument  of  our  third 
chapter,  in  regard  to  the  use  of  hymnS;  an  inquiry 
,  arises,  whether  songs,  such  as  those  which  are 
often  prepared  and  sung  on  anniversary  occasions 
may  be  consistently  sung?  In  this  we  remark,  1. 
That  were  Christians  agreed  in  reference  to  the 
subject  in  the  aspect  in  which  it  has  been  before 
us — the  use  of  hymns  in  worship — this  inquiry 
would  give  little  trouble.  If  such  songs  were  used 
at  all,  it  would  be  only  as  patriotic  songs,  for  ex- 


SINGING  OF  SONGS.  239 

ample,  are  sung  on  public  occasions,  or  as  songs 
are  sung  in  private  circles,  for  musical  recreation 
or  practice,  and  not  under  the  name  of  devotion  at 
all.  2.  Whether  they  are  so  sung,  generally,  in 
the  circumstances  to  which  we  allude,  we  cannot 
tell.  We  presume,  however,  tbat  in  many  cases, 
the  idea  of  worship  does  not  present  itself  to  those 
who  use  them  It  certainly  cannot,  in  instances 
of  which  we  have  seen  notices,  in  which  the  chil- 
dren, and  perhaps  the  adults  of  a  congregation, 
unite  in  singing  a  song  prepared  as  an  expression 
of  their  welcome  to  a  pastor:  and  in  all  such  like  in- 
stances. Still,  3.  Inasmuch  as  these  are  not  ne- 
cessary: as  there  is  no  obligation  to  use  such  songs: 
as  the  propriety  of  their  use  may  be  often,  at  least, 
doubtful :  and  inasmuch  as  these  are  associated  in 
some  degree,  perhaps  largely,  in  the  public  mind 
with  the  use  of  hymns  in  the  worship  of  God,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  such  worship,  we  think  it  is 
not  only  wisest  and  safest,  but  required  of  us,  to 
avoid  them.  We  might  add,  that  this  whole  thing 
is  liable  to  what  we  regard  as  very  gross  abuse: 
for  example,  we  have  seen  a  statement  of  a  pastor 
being  sung  to  on  the  Lord's  day  by  an  assembled 
Sabbath  school! 

APPENDIX  E. 

The  following  summary  answers  to  arguments  for 
the  use  of  hymns,  and  to  objections  to  the  use  of 


240  APPENDIX. 

the  Psalms  in  worship,  are  taken  from  a  conde>nsed 
summarv  on  the  subject  of  Psalmody  annexed  to 
Rev.  R.  J.  Dodd's  "Reply  to  Morton." 

"It  is  objected — 

1.  'That  the  singing  of  uninspired  composition, 
in  divine  worship,  is  not  forbidden  in  the  word  of 
God/ 

Answer.  Neither  are  we  forbidden  to  observe 
seven  sacraments.  In  determining  whether  or  not 
this  or  that  particular  service  should  be  made  a 
part  of  God's  worship,  the  absence  of  divine  ap- 
pointment, amounts,  in  all  cases,  to  a  prohibition. 

2.  'That  good  men  have  composed  hymns  to  be 
used  in  divine  worship,  and  sing  hymns  of  human 
composure.' 

Answer. — 1.  The  best  of  men  are  liable  to  do 
things  which  will  dishonour  God,  and  injure  the 
church.  2.  There  are  many  good  men  who  would 
not  dare,  either  to  compose  a  song  to  be  sung  in 
divine  worship,  or  to  offer  to  God  a  song  composed 
by  man. 

3.  'That  those  who  use  human  psalmody,  are 
more  numerous  than  those  who  use  only  the  book 
of  Psalms  in  singing  God's  praise/ 

Ansiuer. — 1.  It  was  not  always  so;  and  the  time 
may  yet  come,  when  it  will  cease  to  be  so.  2.  The 
multitude  are  not  always — nor  have  they  hitherto 
commonly  been  right^  in  matters  of  faith,  and  reli' 
gious  practice. 

4.  'That  we  are  allowed  to  compose  our  own 
prayers,  and,  by  parity  of  reason,  ought  to  be  al- 
lowed to  compose  our  own  songs  of  praise.' 

Answer. — 1.  Right  or  wrong,  it  is  a  matter  of 


BRIEF  ARGUMENTS.  241 

fact,  that  most  worshippers  neither  do  nor  can  com- 
pose their  own  songs  of  praise.  2.  God  has  given 
us,  in  the  Bible,  a  book  of  Psalms,  but  no  book  of 
Prayers;  and  promised  to  the  church  a  Spirit  of 
prayer,  but  not  a  Spirit  of  psalmody.  3.  In  prayer 
we  express  our  own  wants;  in  praise  we  declare 
God's  glory.  If  we  can  frame  a  form  of  words, 
suitable  for  the  former  purpose,  it  by  no  means  fol- 
lows that  we  are  equally  competent  to  compose  a 
form  of  words  for  the  latter  purpose.  4.  The  or- 
dinances of  prayer  and  praise  dijffer  in  this, — that 
in  the  former  the  thoughts  suggest  the  words;  and 
we  should  therefore  use  the  words  which  they  do 
suggest;  whereas,  in  the  latter  the  words  are  de- 
signed to  suggest  the  thoughts,  and  therefore  we 
should  use  words,  if  such  we  can  obtain,  which  can 
suggest  none  but  appropriate  thoughts.  5.  Our 
wants  are  always  changing;  and,  therefore,  our 
prayers  should  vary :  but  the  glory  of  God  is  ever 
the  same;  and  therefore  the  same  collection  of  songs 
will  serve  for  the  expression  of  his  praise,  from 
age  to  age. 

5.  ^That  there  is,  in  the  New  Testament,  autho- 
rity for  singing  songs  composed  by  men.'  First: 
we  are  referred  to  the  fact  that  Christ  and  his  dis- 
ciples sung  a  hymn.  Matt.  xxvi.  50.  Answer. — 1. 
Let  it  be  proved  that  the  hymn  sung  by  our  Sa- 
viour and  the  disciples,  was  not  one  or  more  of  the 
Psalms  of  David.  It  is  supposed  by  the  best  com- 
mentators, to  have  been  the  great  liallel,  consist- 
ing of  the  Psalms  from  the  lloth  to  the  118th  in- 
clusive. 2,  Our  Saviour  was  better  qualified,  and 
had  a  better  right  to  compose  hymns  than  Dr.  Watts, 
John  Wesley,  Philip  Doddridge,  &c.  Second;  It 
21 


^l!^  APPENDIX. 

is  argued  that  Paul  enjoins  the  use  of  uninspired 
psahnody  when  he  says,  Col.  iii.  16,  'Let  the  word 
of  Christ  dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom;  teach- 
ing and  admonishing  one  another,  in  psalms,  and 
hymns,  and  spiritual  songs;  singing  with  grace  in 
your  hearts  to  the  Lord/  Some  argue  from  the 
first  clause  of  the  verse,  '  Let  the  word  of  Christ 
dwell  in  you  richly  in  all  wisdom;'  explaining  the 
phrase,  'the  word  of  Christ/  to  mean  either  the 
■whole  Bible,  or  the  New  Testament;  and  alleging 
that  the  apostle  enjoins  the  use  of  songs  drawn 
from  the  whole  word  of  God,  or  from  the  Xqw  Tes- 
tament in  particular,  Ansiver. — 1.  Let  it  be  proved 
that  this  expression  means  either  the  whole  Bible, 
or  the  New  Testament,  and  not  simply,  the  princi- 
ples of  the  gospel.  2.  Let  it  be  proved  that  the 
Apostle  enjoins  upon  the  church,  to  compose  songs, 
drawing  the  matter  of  them  from  what  he  denomi-- 
nates  '  the  word  of  Christ.' 

Others  reason  from  the  use  of  the  three  terms, 
^psalms,  and  hymns,  and  spiritual  songs'  in  the 
latter  clause  of  the  verse.  Ansiver. — 1.  No  good 
reason  can  be  assigned,  why  any  one  of  the  psalms 
of  inspiration  might  not,  in  reference  to  different 
aspects  under  which  it  may  be  viewed,  be  denomi- 
nated a  'psalm,  hymn,  and  spiritual  song/  Such 
a  use  of  language  is  not  uncommon.  God  says, 
Ex.  xxxiv.  7,  'forgiving  iniquity,  and  transgres- 
sion, and  sin.'  2.  If  these  three  terms  designate 
three  distinct  kinds  of  devotional  poetry,  let  it  be 
proved  that  the  Book  of  Psalms  does  not  comprise 
songs  of  these  three  different  kinds.  3.  The  Jews 
applied  the  terms  psalms,  hymns,  and  songs,  in- 
discriminately to  the  Book  of  Psalms. — See  Jose- 


BRIEF  ARGUMENTS.  243 

pliiis,  Phllo,  Sec;  and  tlie  same  may  lave  been 
done  by  Paul  and  the  primitive  Christians.  4.  In 
the  Scptuagint,  which  was  the  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament  in  use  in  the  days  of  Paul,  some  of 
the  psalms  are,  in  their  titles,  designated  psalmos 
— a  psalm;  others,  ode — a  song;  and  others,  al/e- 
luia;  which  last  is  a  word  borrowed  from  the  He- 
brew, and  when  used  as  a  noun  in  the  Greek  lan- 
guage, is  equivalent  to  hi/mnos — a  hymn.  Why 
may  we  not  suppose  the  Apostle  has  allusion,  in 
this  verse,  to  these  three  terms  used  in  the  Septu- 
agint  version,  as  titles  of  different  psalms? 

Third:  it  is  inferred  from  1  Cor.  xiv.  26,  that 
the  Corinthians  brought  to  their  assemblies  psalms 
composed  by  themselves,  under  a  supernatural  im- 
pulse of  the  Spirit,  and  of  course  not  contained  in 
the  book  of  Psalms.  Answer. — Let  it  be  proved 
that  the  Psalms,  by  the  unseasonable  utterance  of 
which  they  disturbed  their  assemblies,  wore  com- 
posed by  themselves  under  an  impulse  of  the  Spirit, 
and  not  selected  from  the  Book  of  Psalms. 

6.  'That  the  Book  of  Psalms  is  hard  to  under- 
stand.' 

Answer. — 1.  If  there  are  some  passages  in  the 
Psalms  hard  to  understand,  so  are  there  in  the 
other  scriptures. — 2  Pet.  iii.  16.  2.  It  is  no  harder 
to  understand  the  psalms  when  we  sing  them  than 
when  we  read  them.  3.  The  more  we  use  them, 
the  better  will  we  understand  them.  4.  Tie  have 
a  better  opportunity  of  understanding  them  than 
Old  Testament  worshippers  had;  and  we  are  sure 
the  Book  of  Psalms  was  their  psalmody.  5.  If  we 
are  unable  to  understand  the  Psalms,  much  less 
are  we  able  to  compose  songs  which  will  supply 


244  APPENDIX. 

their  place.  6.  If  any  man  does  not  understand 
the  Psalms,  let  him,  under  the  direction  of  their 
divine  Author,  endeavour  to  ascertain  their  mean- 
ing. 7.  The  psalms  are  not,  in  general,  hard  to 
understand.  There  is,  indeed,  an  unfathomable 
depth  of  meaning  in  them;  but  no  man  finds  fault 
■with  a  well  on  account  of  its  depth,  if  the  water 
rises  to  the  surface.  There  can  be  more  divine 
truth,  and  true  devotional  sentiment  found  on  the 
very  face  of  the  inspired  Psalms,  than  can  be  ob- 
tained from  those  which  are  uninspired,  when  they 
are  worn  threadbare. 

7.  '  That  the  Psalms  are  not  adapted  to  New 
Testament  worship.' 

Answer. — 1.  God  never  changes,  and  of  course 
his  praise  is  always  the  same.  2.  The  Spirit  of 
God  was  better  able,  in  the  days  of  David,  to  pre- 
pare songs  suited  to  New  Testament  worship,  than 
men  are  now.  3.  The  Psalms  everywhere  speak 
most  clearly  of  Christ  and  his  mediatorial  work, 
kingdom  and  glory;  and  are,  by  the  Apostles,  co- 
piously quoted  in  illustration  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion. 4.  They  make  less  reference  to  the  pecu- 
liarities of  the  old  dispensation,  than  some  books 
of  the  New  Testament  do.  5.  We  have  no  Book 
of  Psalms  in  the  New  Testament,  and  no  command 
to  prepare  one. 

8.  '  That  the  Psalms  contain  sentiments  adverse 
to  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel;  abounding  with  sharp 
invectives  against  personal  enemies,  and  being,  in 
many  instances,  expressive  of  revenge,  &c.' 

Ansioer. — It  is  blasphemy. 

9.  ^  That  the  Psalms  are  not  sufficiently  copious 
to  furnish  a  complete  system  of  psalmody.' 


BRIEF  ARGUMENTS.  245 

Ansicer. — 1.  God  is  no  more  glorious  now  than 
he  was  in  Old  Testament  times;  and  if  the  Psalms 
were  sufficient  then  for  the  expression  of  his  praise, 
they  are  still  sufficient.  2.  It  is  too  much  for  any 
man  to  take  upon  himself  to  decide  how  copious  a 
system  of  psalmody  ought  to  be.  3.  The  Book  of 
Psalms  actually  contains  an  incomparably  greater 
abundance  and  variety  of  matter  than  all  the  hymns 
which  were  ever  composed  by  men. 

10.  '  That  we  have  no  good  metrical  translation 
of  the  Psalms.' 

Answer. — 1.  Let  those  who  think  we  have  no 
good  metrical  translation  of  the  Psalms,  improve 
some  of  the  versions  in  use,  or  make  a  better  one. 
It  is  surely  easier  to  make  a  good  translation  of 
God's  Psalms,  than  to  compose  songs  better  than 
those  which  He  has  made.  2.  It  is  better  to  sing, 
in  divine  worship,  an  imperfect  translation  of  those 
songs  which  God  has  composed,  than  to  sing  the 
best  songs  which  men  can  make.  3.  We  have  a 
good  metrical  translation  of  the  Psalms.  There 
are,  in  the  Scottish  version  of  the  Psalms,  it  is  true, 
some  blemishes.  It  contains  some  uncouth  forms 
of  expression,  and  some  words  which  are  now  ob- 
solete; and  its  versification  in  many  instances  is  far 
from  being  smooth.  But,  for  the  most  part,  both 
the  phraseology  and  the  versification  are  very  good; 
and  it  must  be  allowed  by  those  who  have  examined 
it,  that  its  fidelity  to  the  original  Hebrew  is  not 
much,  if  it  all,  inferior  to  that  of  the  prose  trans- 
lation of  the  Psalms,  in  our  English  Bible. 

"These  few  observations  are  submitted  to  the 
judgment  of  the  candid  and  intelligent  reader. 
Though  they  may  not  be  blessed  as  a  means  of  re- 
21* 


246  APPENDIX. 

claiming  any  from  the  practice  of  using  human 
psalmody,  yet  if  they  serve  to  establish  some  in 
their  attachment  to  the  Psalms  of  inspiration,  the 
writer  will  not  consider  his  labour  lost.  Christian 
worshippers  will  one  day  see  eye  to  eye,  on  this,  as 
on  all  other  important  points.  In  the  mean  time, 
all  the  fearers  of  God  can,  with  confidence,  com- 
mit the  interests  of  Christ's  truth,  so  far  as  they 
are  involved  in  this  controversy,  to  the  manage- 
ment of  Him  who  brings  order  out  of  confusion, 
and  light  out  of  darkness;  and  praying,  'Thy  will 
be  done  on  earth  as  it  is  in  heaven,'  rest  assured 
that  very  soon,  in  songs  appointed  by  Jehovah's 
own  high  authority,  the  devout  worshipper  will 
everywhere  ^give  to  the  Lord  the  glory  due  unto 
his  name/ 

"Praise  ye  the  Lord;  unto  him  sing 

a  new  song ;  and  his  praise, 
In  the  assembly  of  his  saints, 

in  sweet  Psalms  do  ye  raise. 
Let  Isr'el  in  his  Maker  joy, 

and  to  Him  praises  sing; 
Let  all  that  Zion's  children  are, 

be  joyful  in  their  King.  " 


